As the increasing number of handbooks on intelligence studies indicates, internationally political science has reached a certain level of maturity. However, in France, academic research in this field is in its infancy. The French academic research not only started to develop long after intelligence studies in Britain, but France is also unique because of a paradox : While public knowledge is weak, France is one of the few countries to run a full range of intelligence activities and organisations, both civil and military, human and technical, etc. This paper presents the current state of research on intelligence in France and the United Kingdom, analyzing the developments in this field in both countries. It speculates on the British achievements compared to the late and fragile development of French intelligence studies. These differences can be explained by many factors including the functioning of the academic market, the transformation of the state and recognition of intelligence, and, finally, the legitimization of intelligence on both sides of the Channel.