But shortly afterwards, Bernard Squarcini, the head of the DCRI, countered her claim, saying an inquiry had indeed been conducted early March on the orders of France's police chief, Frédéric Péchenard – who, it is assumed, received orders from Mr Sarkozy. The aim, he said, was "to carry out a computer trackback to get as near as possible to the point of departure in time and, if possible to the source (of the rumours)".