Display reveals spy gadgets

Lipstick pistols, poison pens, explosive rats - a new Paris exhibit reveals real-life spy gadgets and tells the story of how secret agents around the world were recruited, trained and equipped during clandestine missions from World War I to the end of the Cold War.

"Secret Wars", which opened last month at Les Invalides, offers a chance to relive the days before espionage went online, displaying about 400 objects, devices and archives from French, British, American and German collections, most of which have never been shown before.

Far from James Bond's glamorous life, it tells the story of men and women who risked their lives to gather intelligence and carry out clandestine operations.