Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage (SDECE); France's external intelligence agency operating from 1944-11-06 to 1982-04-02. Predecessor to the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE). Responsibilities included foreign intelligence collection, counterespionage abroad, guerrilla operations, assassinations, and covert political interventions. Reported directly to the Prime Minister (or President of the Council under Fourth Republic) until the mid-1960s, then to the Ministry of Defence. Headquarters in Paris, nicknamed 'la piscine' due to proximity to a public swimming pool (likely near 141 Boulevard Mortier, 20th arrondissement, inherited by DGSE). Predecessor: Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action. Involved in major operations during Indochina War, Algerian War, Nigerian Civil War (Biafra support), Yom Kippur War reporting, and African interventions (e.g., Operation Caban against Bokassa). Criticized for scandals, illegal activities, and infiltration by foreign spies.