French Prime Minister Holds Cross-Party Meeting on Foreign Electoral Interference Ahead of 2027 Vote

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu hosted political representatives from across party lines on June 11 to discuss foreign electoral interference ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Lecornu described “serious threats” to the vote and stated that “the entire political class” could be at risk.

France’s secretary-general for defence and national security, Nicolas Roche, said recent municipal elections may have served as “a dress rehearsal” for foreign interference attempts.

Authorities identified several efforts to destabilise the electoral process during those votes. VIGINUM, the service for Vigilance and Protection against Foreign Digital Interference, has monitored digital interference from abroad since 2021. The unit, which reports to the SGDSN, now comprises around 60 analysts.

Benoît Grünemwald, a cybersecurity expert at digital security company ESET, said France ranks among the top three countries in Europe for services combating foreign digital interference, alongside Sweden and Estonia. He credited recruitment of talent, governance structures, and resources allocated to ANSSI and VIGINUM.

Grünemwald stated that large language models enable the creation of video, text, and audio content without requiring the creator to be a French speaker.

He added that the barrier to entry for generating disinformation has been lowered by AI, allowing greater scale and reach of campaigns. During the Paris Olympics, authorities recorded a significant volume of cyberattacks involving both disinformation and attempts at disruption. The impact remained minimal due to coordination between public and private sector actors led mostly by ANSSI.