Gabriel Attal, France’s former prime minister and Renaissance party leader, has been targeted by “foreign interference originating in Russia”, in the latest in a series of Kremlin‑linked operations aimed at destabilising the 2027 presidential election.
Issued on: 05/08/2026 - 20:55
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Attal’s entourage told French press agency AFP on Wednesday that the SGDSN, France’s national defence and security secretariat, had alerted them to interference “linked to organs of the Russian central authorities”. The operation was described by a security source as “low‑visibility”, with only a few thousand views, and was not presented as a direct hacking of Attal’s personal devices but rather as part of a broader disinformation campaign. The disclosure comes weeks after similar alerts involving other potential contenders. In late July, former prime minister Edouard Philippe, a declared 2027 candidate, was targeted by the pro‑Russian network Storm‑1516 with false claims about his health, in what a security source, talking to AFP, called the first such operation against a French presidential hopeful.
Edouard Philippe, Mayor of Le Havre and leader of French political party Horizons (HOR), delivers a speech during the Horizons party National Council and the Assembly of Mayors meeting to discuss the political situation and prepare for the French 2027 presidential campaign, in Reims, France, May 10, 2026. © REUTERS - Tom Nicholson
