French Defense Minister Resigns : Head of Secret Service Fired Over Greenpeace Scandal

Defense Minister Charles Hernu resigned today in the scandal over charges that French agents sank a Greenpeace protest ship, and the head of the French secret service was removed from his post.

The developments came one day after President Francois Mitterrand ordered Premier Laurent Fabius to shake up the secret service agency, the General Directorate for External Security, for which Hernu was responsible.

Mitterrand, who expressed impatience with the slow pace of the investigation, apparently was alarmed by allegations that secret service agents placed the explosive charges that sank the Rainbow Warrior on July 10 at its berth in Auckland, New Zealand, killing a crew member.

Protest Flotilla Planned

The Greenpeace flagship was preparing to lead a protest flotilla to the French nuclear test site at Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific.

Two French agents are being held in New Zealand on charges of murder, arson and conspiracy. International arrest warrants have been issued for three other French agents.

Mitterrand accepted Hernu’s resignation and replaced him with Paul Quiles, who has been minister of urban development, housing and transportation.

This afternoon, Fabius announced that Adm. Pierre Lacoste, head of the French intelligence agency, has been dismissed.

Hernu, 62, a longtime friend of the president, has acknowledged ordering a “surveillance mission” on Greenpeace in New Zealand but denied that the secret service sank the Rainbow Warrior.

In his letter of resignation to Fabius, Hernu said it was clear that officials in his ministry had lied to him about the Greenpeace affair.

Blames His Officials

“I know, since last night, uncontestably, that officials of my ministry hid the truth from me. That, I cannot accept,” his letter read.

Mitterrand expressed his “pain, regret and gratitude” to Hernu in a letter made public by the presidential palace.

Greenpeace Chairman David McTaggart said in a statement issued at the environmentalist group’s London office: “We are not interested in finding a scapegoat, and we urge President Mitterrand to turn his attention from assigning responsibility in this matter to the real issue, which is continuing French nuclear tests in the Pacific.”

The authoritative newspaper Le Monde and the news weekly L’Express allege that the two bombs that sank the converted trawler were placed on its hull by a third team of French agents, in addition to those under arrest and sought.

Shake-Up Called For

Mitterrand sent Fabius a letter Thursday calling for a shake-up in the French spy agency. “This situation cannot continue,” the letter said. “The moment has come to proceed without delay with personnel changes and, if necessary, the structures leading to this deficiency.”

Fabius replied today that Adm. Pierre Lacoste, head of the French intelligence agency, was asked to respond in writing to the media allegations about a third team of agents.

“Adm. Lacoste refused to respond to the defense minister, citing his conception of his duties,” Fabius wrote in a letter. “It is obviously impossible to accept such a situation.”