[1] He worked for Thomson-CSF and helped pass information from the anti-Soviet spy Vladimir Vetrov to NATO.
Ameil and his co-worker at Thomson-CSF helped Vladimir Vetrov pass information on the Soviets to the Direction de la surveillance du territoire.
These meetings were quite risky, as Ameil had no connection to the Soviets, unlike his successor who worked at the Embassy of France, Moscow [fr].
The information obtained helped the United States start the Strategic Defense Initiative and continue the nuclear arms race.
The character Pierre Froment, played by Guillaume Canet, was loosely based on Ameil.