If you think spies only act in Ian Fleming’s novels or are tapping telephones from innocent civilians in (former) communist countries, you’re wrong (again). A trial was started recently against the French energy company EDF, which is being charged for spying on Greenpeace.

EDF (Electricité de France) is one of the biggest exploiters of nuclear power plants in the world, as it is also the owner of British Energy. During the hearings of some witnesses in the case, it already became clear that EDF, which is a government undertaking, paid private detectives to infiltrate in environment movements all over Europe. An IT expert from the detective agency has admitted hacking computer systems of Greenpeace. The head of the firm nevertheless, who has also been charged and happens to be a former agent of the French secret service, denies he commanded the entire hacking operation and declares that the computer expert was acting on his own initiative. As such, EDF declares to be victim of the detective agency and registers a civil plaintiff.

As the director of Greenpeace France already stated, the fact that his organisation is being treated like terrorists because they dare to question nuclear energy shows just how frightened the nuclear industry is of transparency and a democratic debate. To be continued.