French prosecutors have opened a formal investigation into a suspected Russian disinformation campaign using deepfakes and fabricated video reports to discredit centrist candidates ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday that it is probing manipulated social media content targeting former prime ministers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, two leading centrist hopefuls for the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron.
Deepfakes and Fake Health Rumours
Attal filed a complaint on August 7 over foreign interference originating from Russian networks. His legal team said the investigation demonstrates that judicial authorities are taking seriously the gravity of these digital interference tactics and the need to protect the integrity of the democratic debate they seek to distort.
France’s Viginum watchdog, the government agency tasked with combating foreign digital interference, attributed the campaign targeting Attal with a high degree of confidence to the pro-Russian Matryoshka network. A security source said another Russian-linked propaganda network, Storm-1516, was behind campaigns targeting left-wing politician Raphaël Glucksmann and Philippe.
It is fundamental to state this simple fact: we cannot allow Vladimir Putin’s Russia to manipulate the 2027 presidential election – an election that is existential for the French people.
– Raphaël Glucksmann
A Pattern of Interference
The probe follows a broader pattern of suspected foreign interference in French elections. French prosecutors had already opened a separate investigation into a disinfo campaign targeting Glucksmann. Russia has been accused of stepping up hybrid destabilization campaigns targeting France, including ahead of the 2024 Olympics and the 2026 municipal elections.
France’s government is deeply wary that the Kremlin may attempt to influence the 2027 polls to install a more Kremlin-friendly candidate at the Élysée, particularly against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The investigation signals that French authorities are treating election interference as a top national security priority well ahead of the vote.
Sources: AFP; The Local France; Politico Europe; European Pravda
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