Sophie Hatt, the Director of the International Security Cooperation (DCIS) at the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas France (MIOM), spoke with Milipol Daily in an exclusive interview

The Director outlined the pivotal role of French security cooperation internationally, the extensive network of associates, and the strategic partnerships bolstering France’s homeland security sector.

As Director of the International Security Cooperation (DCIS) at the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas France (MIOM), could you tell us about the main tasks and responsibilities associated with your position?
I head the first joint directorate for the Police Nationale and the Gendarmerie Nationale. The DCI was created in 2010 and placed under the joint authority of both Managing Directors, which was trailblazing within the MIOM. It was reformed in 2021 to become the DCIS and to place Europe, both bilaterally and multilaterally, at the centre of our action. The DCIS is involved in implementing MIOM’s international strategy and France’s foreign policy on homeland security. It leads and coordinates the operational, technical and institutional cooperation of the Managing Directors of the Police Nationale and the Gendarmerie Nationale abroad and also carries out actions on behalf of other MIOM directorates (DGSCGC, DGEF, etc.). To achieve our objectives concerning homeland security and representing our institutions and interests abroad, I have a central authority and the largest network of homeland security associates in the world.

Could you also tell us about the network of homeland security associates and what their role is?
The network of homeland security associates, managed and run by the DCIS and headed by homeland security associates who are sometimes assisted by liaison officers and/or technical cooperation officers, has as its main mission to take MIOM’s priorities for action abroad, in a cooperative framework with foreign partners. Its three main vectors of action and influence are operational cooperation (in terms of exchanging information with the investigation services of the countries where the homeland security services are based), technical cooperation (in terms of training and equipping these same services) and lastly the promotion of the expertise of French manufacturers working in the homeland security sector (information on the environment to be considered, contacts, advice, etc.). Through these various means, the network of homeland security associates is striving to put in place the conditions for a more effective fight against all forms of crime that have their source in or pass through third party countries, because they are further and beyond our borders. The associates therefore have a duty to establish contacts based on trust and transparency with the police, gendarmerie and civil protection services of their countries of residence, at the highest level of the hierarchy as well as with operational agents. In the same context and with the same objectives, the network of homeland security associates works closely with Ambassadors and members of the diplomatic chancellery as well as consular services on all issues involving a potential threat to the security of France and its citizens, those based on national territory as well as its nationals living in or transiting through foreign territory. Homeland security associates are also particularly involved in European affairs in the fields of migration and homeland security. When stationed in an EU Member State, a homeland security associate is called upon, at the request of our authorities, to represent and present French positions to the relevant authorities in the country where he or she is based, as well as to gather their own views. Outside the EU zone, homeland security associates are also involved in the design and implementation of security projects with European funding. These projects, in which MIOM provides expertise and know-how as part of a consortium of EU Member States, are carried out for the benefit of third party countries.

The Partnerships Office works actively and successfully to bring and coordinate international delegations to Milipol. Can you tell us more about this?
The DCIS Partnerships Office is responsible for promoting all the technologies and equipment used by the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas France’s homeland and civil security sectors. As such, it is a major player in the co-organisation of important events dedicated to these themes in France, such as Milipol Paris, and abroad with Milipol Doha and Singapore, to name but a few. This office is the essential point of entry for private companies and industrial associations in the homeland security and civil protection sectors. It assists them on a daily basis in their export activities. In addition, since 2019, it has been setting up “buyer-meeting days”, during which it accompanies companies abroad, in conjunction with the Homeland Security Service and in collaboration with institutional economic partners such as Business France and BPI, with a view of supporting the export of French security solutions.

This interview and the answers provided by Sophie Hatt have been translated from French into English.

Photo: © Ministère de l’Intérieur/B.CHAPIRON