French Envoy to Leave India in Wake of Spy Scandal

NEW DELHI —  France said on Friday that it has recalled its ambassador to India, a move that Indian news reports tied to an espionage scandal and the departure of another French diplomat less than two weeks ago.

The government has said that it has not yet determined whether the CIA, the French secret services, the Soviet KGB or another espionage agency was involved in the leak of highly classified information. It has not said what secrets were leaked.

India’s External Affairs Ministry announced Friday that the French government was withdrawing Ambassador Serge Boidevaix. News reports said the recall was at New Delhi’s suggestion.

In Paris, a government statement said Boidevaix will return to France to take over as the country’s third-ranking Foreign Ministry official as of June 1. The statement also said France is seeking Indian agreement for an ambassador to replace Boidevaix.

There was no explanation why Boidevaix is returning four months before his appointment as the ministry’s assistant secretary general. But the ministry did say, without elaborating, that his term in India was finished Friday.

French Embassy spokesman in New Delhi said that Boidevaix, ambassador to India for two years, will return to Paris soon.

A spokesman for the External Affairs Ministry, Salman Haidar, said France told India on Wednesday that Boidevaix was being recalled, but he declined to say if the recall was at India’s request or if the envoy was leaving in connection with the spy case.

The French deputy military attache, Lt. Col. Alain Bolley, was named in Indian news reports as the “main foreign link” in a major espionage ring. He was recalled to Paris Jan. 20, reportedly at Indian government insistence.

Bolley, 54, said before he left that espionage allegations against him were ridiculous.

Without naming a person or a country, the Indian government recently told Parliament that “an agent of a foreign power based in India” was withdrawn after being caught stealing national secrets. About 18 persons have been arrested in connection with the case.