France announced Thursday the creation of a new intelligence agency, merging two long-standing services in a bid to improve the response to security threats. The new DRI agency will be made up of the RG police intelligence unit and the DST counter-intelligence service in a shakeup long advocated by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who served as interior minister under the previous government. Le Figaro newspaper on Thursday described the agency as a "French FBI" and said that Bernard Squarcini, the current head of the DST and a close aide to Sarkozy, was tipped to take its helm.