Editing Rose des Vents (section)

==Rose des Vents (Arc-en-Ciel)==
	◦	Formation: Established in late 1947 under the codename Rose des Vents (referencing the NATO compass rose symbol), this network replaced Plan Bleu. It was led by SDECE directors Henri Ribière and Pierre Fourcaud, with close ties to NATO’s Clandestine Planning Committee (CPC) and Allied Clandestine Committee (ACC).
	◦	Structure: Rose des Vents included paramilitary units, former resistance fighters (non-communists), and members of the 11th Shock Parachute Battalion (11e Choc), a special forces unit under SDECE’s Service Action. Training occurred at the Centre d’Entraînement des Réserves Parachutistes (CERP) in Cercottes near Orléans, as well as sites in the Pyrenees and Calvi, Corsica, near the Italian Gladio headquarters.
	◦	Activities: The network prepared for guerrilla warfare, sabotage, and intelligence-gathering in case of Soviet occupation. It also monitored Soviet agents and conducted domestic operations against communist and socialist groups, particularly during periods of political tension like the Algerian War (1954–1962).
	◦	Key Figure: François de Grossouvre, a close aide to President François Mitterrand, was identified as the Gladio leader for the Lyon region until his alleged suicide in 1994 at the Élysée Palace. Grossouvre reportedly consulted Constantin Melnik, a former SDECE leader during the Algerian War, who had ties to the CIA and the Rand Corporation.