France has, in recent years, witnessed more disinformation campaigns coming "from abroad," including Russia, than any other European country apart from Ukraine, Prime Minister François Bayrou said on Friday, March 28. "France is a prime target," Bayrou said at a forum organised by Viginum, a French government agency mandated to detect disinformation, adding that information wars have worsened "in the context of ongoing conflicts and geopolitical tensions."
"The threat is there. It is an immediate threat, close to us, which affects every French person," Bayrou said. He said artificial intelligence "allows this manipulation to be carried out on an unprecedented scale."
"We are detecting massive interventions coming from Russia," said the French prime minister, also saying there were signs of information manipulation coming from China. Citing a report from the European External Action Service, the EU's diplomatic body, he said that of 505 incidents recorded in Europe between 2023 and 2024, 257 concerned Ukraine and 152 concerned France.
In a report released in February, Viginum said Russia had, for the past three years, been deploying a highly organized information warfare campaign to garner support for its invasion of Ukraine.
France has been one of the most vocal supporters of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a summit aiming to sketch out plans to send a "reassurance" force after any ceasefire deal in Ukraine. Macron said the summit agreed that he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would together "co-pilot" Europe's "coalition of action" for peace.