Inside ‘Le Cercle’: France’s Secretive Circle Linked to Macrons’ Battle with Candace Owens

Freddie Ponton
21st Century Wire

When Candace Owens posted on X that she believed a plot to assassinate her was being orchestrated “from France,” involving President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigette Macron, and funded by what her source called the “Club des Cent,” few outside intelligence circles knew what to make of it. To the casual observer, the name evokes Parisian gourmets and critics of haute cuisine, but historians specialising in clandestine operations, along with existing declassified archives—reveal a far darker and far-reaching reality: Owens’ source was, more than likely, referring to the ‘Cercle des Cent’, better known as ‘Le Cercle’, or in Anglo-American sources, ‘The Pinay Circle’—a secretive, invitation-only elite network of politicians, financiers, and intelligence operatives whose influence has quietly shaped transatlantic policy for decades.

The Club des Cent is sometimes referred to in intelligence literature as the “Cercle des Cent” or simply “Le Cercle”. (Grok)

Owens’ allegation remains unverified, and she has yet to release public evidence of a plot targeting her. At the same time, the very idea resonates because Le Cercle is a very real and living institution, historically and contemporarily capable of operating in the shadowy spaces where politics, intelligence, and ideology intersect.

Unless they are planning to assassinate her with a fork, it is reasonable to assume that Candace’s allegations shine a light on a hidden architecture of influence, one that has persisted since the early Cold War, and that still deserves our attention today.

Le Cercle was founded in the early 1950s by former French Prime Minister Antoine Pinay and French intelligence agent Jean Violet, alongside figures such as West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and former Federal Minister of Defence of Germany, Franz Josef Strauss. Its purpose was simple but powerful: provide an off-the-record forum where European and Anglo-American elites could coordinate policy, discuss global threats, and cultivate informal networks that operated beyond parliamentary oversight. Attendees included corporate financiers, lawyers, diplomats, and intelligence officers from France’s External Documentation and Counter-Espionage Service (SDECE), the equivalent of MI6, which was later renamed DGSE, the French Directorate General for External Security, as well as the CIA. Declassified meeting agendas, now available through the ISGP archive, reveal discussions spanning NATO strategy, European integration, and Middle Eastern crises, operating alongside clandestine NATO and CIA-run terror networks like GLADIO, as well as 6I, and the notorious Safari Club, which we reported on last week. It is important to understand that members of Le Cercle can move between all these various organisations and deep state constructs.

SEE ALSO: Past as Prologue: Safari Club Illuminates Candace Owens’ Allegations

The structure of power within these elite networks reflects a larger operational logic. The liberal establishment tends to focus on economics and diplomacy, while the conservative establishment is primarily concerned with national security. Though their priorities sometimes diverge, the two are deeply interdependent. When diplomatic avenues falter, the machinery of the CIA and the Pentagon is empowered to take over, handling tasks the State Department cannot touch: invasions, coups, espionage, assassinations, arms shipments, and even drug trafficking. Within this context, Le Cercle occupies a shadowy but pivotal space, quietly coordinating influence and action at the intersection of diplomacy, intelligence, and private power.

But Le Cercle was more than a transatlantic association or think tank. Researchers argue that it also functions as a bridge between Anglo-American intelligence, conservative Christian-Catholic activism in post-war Europe, and broader anti-communist and Zionist-aligned networks. In practice, this syndicate, birthed during the Cold War, brings together elite Catholic politicians, pro-Israel activists, and intelligence operatives were likely rubbing shoulders in discreet hotels and private estates, sharing strategies and shaping ideological consensus. Some analysts describe this ecosystem as a “private Cold War,” a milieu where former spymasters, political activists, Neoconservatives, and financiers collaborated to influence global affairs.

A Transatlantic ‘Deep State’

The connections to Neoconservative and pro-Israel circles are particularly striking. Many scholars note that neoconservatives frequently acted as liaisons between US intelligence and Israeli state interests. Within this broader ecosystem, Le Cercle, and affiliated networks like 6I, “a private sector operational intelligence agency—are beholden to no government, but at the disposal of allied or friendly governments”, or “Paneuropean right-wing groups”, to facilitate informal channels between pro-Israel actors, intelligence operatives, and European conservative elites. While this does not establish direct operational control by any government, it highlights the Circle’s potential as a conduit for orchestrating transnational ideological and strategic coordination.

Some researchers point to another dimension of influence that may bind the corridors of intelligence to the proverbial vaults of old money. Among the corporate partners listed in intelligence-veteran networks is a group described cryptically as “Du Pont Investment Bankers.” If this designation refers to members or associates of the famed Du Pont (Dupont) dynasty based in Wilmington, Delaware—a family whose wealth and industrial-financial empire stretches back two centuries, it suggests a potential overlap between legacy American capital, covert-network structures, and the transatlantic power corridors surrounding Le Cercle. The Du Ponts’ traditional holdings in chemicals, trust banking, corporate finance, and global industrial interests could have provided not just capital, but a discrete financial infrastructure for global influence, a silent undercurrent where big business, geopolitics, and intelligence converge.

Owens’ allegations gain added weight considering recent reporting confirming that Le Cercle is still active. According to a report in Declassified UK, the group funded travel for UK ministers as recently as 2019, including then UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and his deputy Greg Hands. Former ministers and parliamentarians were also associated with the group, demonstrating the Circle’s enduring political reach. Meetings reportedly occur at least twice yearly, once in Washington and once in a European location, under strict ‘Chatham House’ confidentiality rules.

It’s clear by looking at the layers of organisation, that this network functions as a key node in a transatlantic ‘deep state’. The roster of past participants reads like a who’s who of transatlantic power: former US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former National Security Advisor of the United States John Bolton, former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and former CIA directors William Colby and Former United States Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey. These connections reinforce the Circle’s historical and contemporary relevance.

ALSO READ: Kill Lists, Covert Ops: Candace Owens’ Alarming Allegation

Some accounts, sometimes contested, assert that parts of the Le Cercle milieu entertained, condoned, or even supported covert operations, propaganda campaigns, and geopolitical interventions, including activities touching the Middle East and Israel. While there is no publicly verifiable evidence of paramilitary operations or assassination missions, the speculation reflects the Circle’s proximity to powerful networks where ideology, intelligence, and clandestine action converge.

One of the most compelling yet enigmatic aspects of Le Cercle is its overlap with a key niche in this international syndicate—conservative Zionist Catholic groups. Full attendee lists are rarely disclosed, but it is understood that these particular conservative Catholic activists and pro-Israel actors sat at the very same tables. The Circle historically drew in European politicians with Catholic backgrounds, anti-communist activists, and financiers with strong ties to Israel (The Rothschilds, Sir James Goldsmith etc). Original Le Cercle members included persons from the Catholic Opus Dei and the Knights of Malta. This key intersection suggests that Le Cercle functioned as a unique transnational salon, blending ideological alignment with high finance, government and policy formation—carried out with precise strategic coordination.

The Circle’s enduring secrecy creates a blend of fascination and fear. Funders are undisclosed, agendas unpublished, and meetings strictly limited in attendance. Discussions reportedly cover foreign policy, security, and economic strategy, but documentation is scarce outside memoirs and leaks. Think of it as a kind of Bilderberg-style private dining club—but with even more selectivity and secrecy. The result is an organization that retains influence far away from public view, which makes verification of any covert activity extraordinarily difficult. The disturbing reality here is that if members of this group are engaged in illegal activity or criminal conspiracy, then it’s hard to distinguish this from any other bon fide organised crime syndicate.

In this context, Owens’ concern is not unwarranted. By all accounts, Le Cercle remains active, influential, and intertwined with networks of intelligence, including, but not limited to, ‘conservative Catholic’ ideology, Neoconservative extremism, and pro-Israeli and Zionist interests. Even without explicit proof of assassination plots, the very existence of such a secretive, elite forum capable of transnational influence and financing clandestine operations—lends real credibility to her suspicions.

Le Cercle exemplifies a broader truth about power in the modern world: elite networks endure, shaping policy, alliances, and strategy from behind the scenes. The private Cold War forums of the 1950s and 60s have evolved, incorporating contemporary political actors, corporate financiers, and intelligence veterans. The Circle has persisted, not as an overt operational force, but as a nexus where influence, ideas, and alliances are quietly brokered.

It is clear, then, that Le Cercle is more than a historical curiosity or a dining club. It is a living, transnational institution of influence, a meeting place for powerful actors who operate in the shadows yet have real-world consequences. Candace Owens’ post, whether alarmist or prescient, highlights the presence of a network that quietly shapes global affairs across decades.

While the alleged paramilitary or Israeli-directed operations remain speculative, the documented overlaps with western intelligence operations and banking elites demonstrates a strategic continuity that makes Le Cercle relevant today.

In the end, the lesson threaded through Le Cercle’s history is stark: anyone who obstructs or exposes the agenda of such a network risks stepping into the line of fire. From the Cold War to the present, those who challenged the status quo found themselves isolated, discredited, or quietly neutralized. That is simply how covert power operates, not always through visible retribution, but through an ecosystem capable of applying pressure in ways the public never sees.

NOTE: You can visit the ISGP online portal to access rare documents and associated information about “Le Cercle”

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Source: https://21stcenturywire.com/2025/12/05/inside-le-cercle-frances-secretive-circle-linked-to-macrons-battle-with-candace-owens/