JOSE MARIA QUINONES DE LEON, A DIPLOMAT IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCOIST ESPIONAGE IN FRANCE DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

This article examines the diplomatic as well as the secret work undertaken by Jose Maria Quinones de Leon between 1936 and 1939, the period in which he served as the unofficial representative of Franco's forces in Paris during the Spa-nish Civil War. Based on unpublished documents, the majority of which come from the General Military Archive at Avila and from the Historical Memory Document Centre, the study explores in depth the figure of this diplomat, a staunch pro-royalist who for almost twenty years acted as a representative in France and who throughout the conflict in Spain was deeply involved in espionage activities, ultimately managing to set up such an efficient network of agents that it proved to be one of the main sources of information for the nationalist forces.