France has evidence that Russia is trying to manipulate influential figures in the country. This was stated by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
„We have evidence that confirms that Russia is trying to manipulate influential figures in various European countries, including France. "The investigations are ongoing and we call on content creators, as well as their followers, to be extremely vigilant against these threats to public debate," Barrot said during a parliamentary hearing.
According to the newspaper „Monde“, citing information from French intelligence, more than 2,000 European content creators have been contacted by people linked to the Russian authorities with an offer to spread pro-Russian propaganda. Among them, 20 people, including nine French, have agreed to cooperate.
The investigation aims to clarify the scale and ways in which such manipulative campaigns are carried out, with authorities warning of potentially serious consequences for public debate in Europe.