Gabriel Attal has filed a legal complaint in Paris over what his lawyers describe as foreign interference, information manipulation and the fabrication of doctored content aimed at undermining the nation's fundamental interests and the integrity of the upcoming presidential election.
According to a statement from his lawyers, Sacha Ghozlan and Lucas Veil, sent to AFP, Attal first reported external digital interference from Russia on Wednesday. State services then told him on Friday that a new interference operation, again originating from Russian networks, had taken place on Thursday.
The lawyers said their client was alerted by the SGDSN, France's General Secretariat for Defence and National Security, and specifically by its Viginum unit, which monitors and protects against foreign digital interference, about disinformation campaigns targeting him.
Fake reports and doctored images
The lawyers said several accounts on X, some impersonating French and international media outlets, had spread fake video reports, fake newspaper front pages and content imitating media logos and graphic styles. These accounts attributed false statements, actions and public positions to Attal and his associates in an effort to discredit him as a candidate, they said. The lawyers also described elements meant to sow confusion about the origin of the deepfakes by suggesting Attal himself had orchestrated the disinformation campaign against him.
Other candidates targeted
Similar destabilization efforts, attributed to pro-Russian networks, have targeted two other declared or expected presidential candidates in recent days. Edouard Philippe of Horizons was the target of false claims about his health. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into a suspected disinformation campaign against Raphael Glucksmann of Place Publique, whose partner, journalist Lea Salame, was falsely accused of bribing media outlets to support his candidacy.
A security source said the operations have remained largely unnoticed but mark the first actions directly targeting presidential hopefuls since the campaign began. Speaking on RTL on Thursday, Attal said the election could be distorted if nothing is done to protect it, accusing Russia of wanting to steal the vote from the French people.
The Paris prosecutor's office said a separate investigation, opened after disinformation affected La France Insoumise candidates in Marseille, Toulouse and Roubaix during the last municipal elections, is still ongoing, with suspicion pointing to an Israeli company, though no new details could be shared at this stage.
Debate over regulating platforms
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Wednesday evening that the government presented a bill in late July toughening penalties for spreading false information. Part of the left wants to go further by targeting foreign platforms directly. Glucksmann has urged French and European authorities not to hesitate if sanctions against platforms like TikTok or X become necessary.
Greens candidate Marine Tondelier proposed in Liberation suspending platforms like X in France during the campaign if interference is confirmed in advance. Elon Musk accused her of betraying France over the proposal and called for her to be silenced.
