The Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action (, Central Bureau of Intelligence and Operations), abbreviated BCRA, was the World War II-era forerunner of the SDECE, the French intelligence service. It was created by Charles de Gaulle in 1940 as a Free French intelligence system that combined both military and political roles, including covert operations, though this policy was reversed in 1943 by Emmanuel d'Astrier (1900-69), who insisted on civilian control of political intelligence.Sébastien Laurent, "The free French secret services: Intelligence and the politics of republican legitimacy." Intelligence and National Security 15.4 (2000): 19-41. The Bureau was first commanded by Major André Dewavrin, who had taken the nom de guerre "Colonel Passy",Simon Kitson, The hunt for Nazi spies: Fighting espionage in Vichy France (U of Chicago Press, 2008). while journalist Pierre Brossolette (1903-44) headed the civilian-arm.
