France Faces Growing Disinformation Threat, Prime Minister Warns

France has recently seen a surge in disinformation campaigns “from abroad,” with Russia being a primary source, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Friday. He noted that France, alongside Ukraine, is one of the European countries most targeted by these campaigns.

Speaking at a forum organized by Viginum, the French government agency tasked with detecting disinformation, Bayrou said that information wars have worsened in the context of ongoing conflicts and geopolitical tensions. “France is a prime target,” he added.

Bayrou highlighted that massive disinformation interventions were being detected from Russia, and there were also signs of information manipulation from China. He referred to a report by the European External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic body, which recorded 505 incidents in Europe between 2023 and 2024. Of those, 257 incidents concerned Ukraine, while 152 targeted France.

“The threat is there. It is an immediate threat, close to us, which affects every French person,” Bayrou warned. He emphasized the role of artificial intelligence in enabling manipulation on an unprecedented scale.

France has been one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a summit to discuss plans for a “reassurance” force to be deployed after any potential ceasefire agreement in Ukraine.

Macron also announced that he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would co-pilot Europe’s “coalition of action” for peace following the summit.

In a report released in February, Viginum revealed that Russia had been running a highly organized information warfare campaign for the past three years to gain support for its invasion of Ukraine.