Viginum head Marc-Antoine Brillant to resign in October

Marc-Antoine Brillant, the head of Viginum, the French agency tasked with combating digital interference, will step down from his position in early October. Brillant, a former army officer who helped establish the service in 2021, plans to launch a private counter-interference agency in partnership with the communications firm Havas, led by Yannick Bolloré.

The new agency will advise leaders on managing informational threats and foreign interference. Anne-Sophie Dhiver, a former Google employee and Brillant’s current deputy, will serve as interim director until a successor is named.

Brillant’s departure comes seven months before the French presidential election. French authorities have expressed significant concern regarding the risk of digital manipulation during the upcoming vote, noting that several candidates, including Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, were previously targeted by pro-Russian disinformation networks.