Attal files complaint over Russian disinformation as three French presidential candidates targeted by deepfakes

Attal's complaint and the timeline

Gabriel Attal, former prime minister and leader of the Renaissance party, filed a legal complaint in Paris on Friday evening denouncing "acts of foreign interference, manipulation of information, fabrication of falsified content" likely to undermine the nation's fundamental interests and the integrity of the upcoming presidential election. His lawyers, Sacha Ghozlan and Lucas Veil, told AFP that state authorities first alerted Attal on Wednesday to "external digital interference" originating from Russia, then informed him on Friday of a new interference operation that had occurred on Thursday, "once again originating from Russian networks." Attal was alerted by France's national defence and security secretariat (SGDSN) and its Viginum unit, which monitors foreign digital interference.

Fabricated content and impersonation

Several accounts on X, some impersonating French and international media outlets, circulated fake video reports, fake newspaper front pages, and content imitating the logos and graphic designs of media organisations, according to Attal's lawyers. The material attributed false statements, actions, and public positions to Attal and his associates "intended to discredit him as a candidate." Attal was presented as potentially suffering from Parkinson's disease. The lawyers also identified material designed to "sow confusion about the origin of the deepfakes" by making it appear Attal had "himself orchestrated the disinformation targeting him." Artificial intelligence was used as a tool in producing the fabricated content, according to German broadcaster N-tv.

Three candidates targeted

A series of destabilisation operations attributed to pro-Russian networks targeted three declared or prospective presidential candidates within days. Centre-right candidate Édouard Philippe (Horizons) was subjected to false claims about his health. Left-wing MEP and Kremlin critic Raphaël Glucksmann was targeted through his partner, journalist Léa Salamé. A fabricated video alleged that Salamé offered the editors of Libération, Le Monde, Marianne and Mediapart 50,000 euros for coverage favourable to her partner's campaign. The video directed viewers to a site at blastinfo.fr, a typosquat of Blast's genuine site at blast-info.fr (with a hyphen). Registration data show the imitation site had been active since 24 July 2026, and Blast stated on X on 1 August that 181 of its pages had been copied identically to carry a single fabricated article. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into whether Glucksmann was targeted by a destabilisation campaign. N-tv reported that the operations were aimed at benefiting right-populist Marine Le Pen.

Reach and visibility

A security source quoted by AFP described the operations as having "relatively low" visibility among French audiences, and Attal's entourage said the action against him generated only a few thousand views. However, a partial count by France 24's Observateurs found the video shared from 14 countries or territories for about a million views, largely by accounts addressing foreign audiences rather than French ones. These included pro-MAGA profiles operated from Nigeria, pro-Kremlin accounts flagged by Debunk.org, and accounts supporting the Alliance of Sahel States.

Warnings and next steps

Attal warned on Thursday on RTL radio that the election could be compromised if no protective measures are taken.

If we do nothing to protect ourselves, the election could be rigged.

He accused Russia of wanting to "steal this election from the French people." Glucksmann wrote that the Russian security services had begun their operations to destabilise the 2027 election campaign. German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that a new law is intended to slow such troll operations, and that demands have emerged to shut down Elon Musk's platform X in France before the 2027 vote. The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for April 2027, eight months away.