French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann said he was the target of a Russian operation to destabilize the 2027 presidential election, in which he is expected to be a likely candidate, through false information involving his partner, journalist Léa Salamé, and journalist Edwy Plenel.
Glucksmann said on social media Monday evening that France's General Secretariat for Defense and National Security had informed him he was targeted by an attack from the Storm-1516 group, which he said is directly run by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.
Disinformation network identified
A security source confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that the disinformation operation was detected late last week and carried out by the pro-Russian Storm-1516 network. The same network had already targeted another presidential candidate, Édouard Philippe, in July through social media posts spreading false claims about his health.
The security source said the operation against Glucksmann had a relatively low level of visibility online, similar to the one targeting the Horizons party leader, but involved a relatively sophisticated manipulation using a deepfake, meaning the hijacking of the identity and voice of a well-known media figure, in this case Plenel, to generate visibility. Plenel himself had warned on X a few days earlier about the false information.
Glucksmann said the attack against him used a fake outlet built from scratch that copied the exact style of the online media outlet Blast, to produce fake documents, replicate voices using artificial intelligence, and spread an entirely fabricated video involving Salamé and Plenel.
Fake claim of a plot
The fake news claimed there was a plot to favor Glucksmann's candidacy, and he said it was relayed on social media by other fake outlets. He said the goal was to make a complete lie go viral in order to smear public figures seen as hostile by the Russian regime, calling it the typical method used by Russian services across Europe.
Mélenchon calls for common front
On X, his rival on the left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, said it was urgent to collectively protect against these destabilization campaigns. Mélenchon said that La France Insoumise coordinator Manuel Bompard had presented proposals to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who was supposed to meet with them again but had not been in touch since.
Mélenchon said it was time to organize a common front against interference, noting that several La France Insoumise candidates in municipal elections had also been targeted by interference, in that case from Israel, involving a complex network of websites and social media accounts linked to a company tied to a former Israeli intelligence officer, according to French authorities, who have opened an investigation.
Glucksmann said the 2027 campaign will be marked by massive interference, accusing Vladimir Putin of wanting to tip France toward the implosion of the European bloc. He said Russian services would target all democratic, pro-European candidates and would target him in particular because he is on the front line defending European sovereignty. He said the hostility does not intimidate him but motivates him, and vowed that Kremlin agents would not be allowed to shake French democracy.
