Former PM Gabriel Attal Targeted by Russian Disinformation Campaign

• Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has been targeted by a Russian disinformation campaign.
• France's agency Viginum confirmed the operation and attributed it to "pro-Russian" tactics.
• Attal's campaign included falsified news reports impersonating French media outlets.
• Other presidential candidates, including Édouard Philippe and Raphaël Glucksmann, have also reported similar targeting.
• French authorities are actively detecting and notifying targeted individuals.

Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has become the latest presidential candidate to report being targeted by a Russian disinformation campaign. Attal, representing President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party, stated on Thursday that he was a "victim" of electoral "interference" originating from Russia. He anticipates an increase in such "destabilization efforts" leading up to France's April 2027 election.

Viginum, the French agency responsible for combating online disinformation, confirmed it had detected the operation against Attal and attributed it with high confidence to "pro-Russian" disinformation tactics. Édouard Philippe, another presidential hopeful, was reportedly the first to be targeted last week. Subsequently, center-left parliamentarian Raphaël Glucksmann announced on Monday that he had also been subjected to a "Russian operation."

Attal described the smear campaign against him as consisting of fabricated news reports concerning his health and policy proposals, which mimicked the branding of established French news outlets. He asserted that "Russia wants to steal the election from the French." A 2024 report from Viginum had previously identified a similar "pro-Russian campaign" named "Matriochka," which involved impersonating well-known French media. Current Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu emphasized on Wednesday that combating foreign interference and safeguarding the democratic framework are priorities, noting that several instances of foreign interference targeting candidates have been detected and addressed.