French presidential candidate Gabriel Attal has been targeted by a Russian disinformation operation, according to the politician’s team and Viginum, the government agency that monitors foreign interference online.
The alleged campaign comes as France looks ahead to next year’s presidential election, in which the far right is seeking what could be its strongest opportunity yet to take power.
Security officials identified “external interference originating from Russia and bodies linked to the Russian central government” aimed at the former centrist prime minister, a member of the 37-year-old candidate’s staff said.
Viginum said it uncovered the operation the previous day.
The campaign remained “relatively low-profile” and drew only a few thousand views, a security source said.
Posts published on X were designed to resemble reports from established French media outlets. They falsely claimed that Mr Attal had Parkinson’s disease or backed policies that would be more favourable to squatters.
A source close to Mr Attal said the operation was probably driven by his “commitment to Ukraine” following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Another propaganda network linked to Russia has also singled out two other politicians in recent weeks.
French authorities last week uncovered a disinformation campaign aimed at Raphael Glucksmann, a left-wing member of the European Parliament and outspoken critic of the Kremlin who is expected to seek France’s presidency next year, the security-service source said yesterday.
The operation was attributed to Storm-1516, a propaganda network that has been linked to Russian intelligence, the source said.
The same group targeted another presidential hopeful, centrist former prime minister Edouard Philippe, last month, using social media posts to circulate false claims about his health.
