[REVISION HISTORY]

Russian disinformation targeting French 2027 election

Updated 7 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-07 16:27 UTC → 2026-08-07 16:31 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In early August 2026 French officials identified two Russian‑linked disinformation operations – Storm‑1516 and the Matryoshka bot network – that spread fabricated videos and false claims about leading 2027 presidential candidates Gabriel Attal, Édouard Philippe and Raphaël Glucksmann. On 6 August Foreign Minister Jean‑Noël Barrot warned that any foreign interference would undermine France’s democratic process, citing those campaigns. He and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu unveiled a draft law that triples penalties for electoral false information: imprisonment up to three years, fines up to €45 000, and up to six years if the act serves a foreign power. The proposal also creates an “information commission” to keep the public and candidates informed about foreign ~~meddling.~~ meddling and calls for regulation of platforms such as TikTok and X. Attal publicly accused Russia of trying to “steal the vote” and of backing far‑right candidate Marine Le Pen. The government announced legal action against Israeli firm BlackCore over alleged interference, while left‑wing parties called for tighter regulation of platforms such as TikTok and X. Barrot’s warning came amid criticism from LFI leader Jean‑Luc Mélenchon, and authorities noted that the disinformation networks also circulated false health rumors about platforms. The French agency Viginum, which monitors foreign digital interference, linked the ~~candidates, expanding~~ campaign against Attal to the ~~scope~~ pro‑Russian Matryoshka network and confirmed Storm‑1516’s targeting of ~~the threat.~~ Philippe and Glucksmann.

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