Posted on 11/05/2012 6:05:38 PM PST by tarator
FRENCH spymasters are hanging their heads in shame after a team of undercover agents proved no match for a couple of wary Bulgarian peasants.
In an exploit worthy of Inspector Clouseau, five officers on a training mission for the elite action service commando of the DGSE — the French equivalent of MI6 — came across the brothers Slavi and Vasko Tsonev watching over their alfalfa crop near the border with Romania.
Two of the officers had been parachuted into Romania and had travelled 25 miles to their rendezvous near the village of Koilvotsi. Their fake target was three other French officers who had entered Bulgaria using false passports.
The Tsonev brothers, carrying wooden boards, and their escort, a retired police officer with a 1950s Makarov pistol, thought the strangers, speaking a language they could not understand, were trying to steal their crop.
A fight broke out, punches were thrown and the ex-police officer shot at the Frenchmen. One was hit in the foot, another in the hand and one suffered a broken nose.
Villagers then discovered a jeep packed with medical equipment, a parachute, GPS devices and a digital camera. Questioned by police, the French agents claimed to be extreme sports enthusiasts.
Bulgarian officials spirited them back to France on a special flight. But the October 15 confrontation caused consternation in parliament in Sofia. Now the French defence ministry has confirmed an account of the failed mission as revealed last week by the Infosdefense website.
Three of the spies were beginners, according to Jean-Paul Ney, editor of Infosdefense. “As there is a nuclear power station nearby, I think the training exercise was to simulate an espionage mission,” he said.
As for the — unharmed — Tsonev brothers, they face prosecution over the incident. "
Teh Tsonev brothers should be given a medal and a cash reward for their assistance in protecting their own country.
French SPECIAL agents...
Why do I feel Ann Coulter would get in trouble describing these SPECIAL people?
I’m confused
two brothers stop admitted foreign espionage agents in their own country
do I have that right?
why would they be charged? at a minimum, the foreigners were in the country illegally (and armed?)
what did the brothers do wrong?
One of the best movies ever. Peter Sellers was a treasure.
The Bulgarians thought that three guys were going to steal their alfalfa crop? They were worried about their crop, but it wasn’t alfalfa.
The Tsonev brothers were carrying wood boards around with them? I guess in Bulgaria, you never know when a barn-raising might break out. I guess the women must carry around cement. All the kids carry a shingle on their head.
it was that other kind of alfalfa..
If you haven’t seen “A Shot in the Dark,” it is one of his best Inspector Jacques Clouseau performances, even though many don’t know about it.
I saw it. The nudist camp scene is a classic.
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