The Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation on Thursday, Aug. 6, into suspected Russian interference targeting European Parliament member Raphaël Glucksmann. The probe follows the release of a fake video created to discredit the Place publique leader, a social-democratic potential candidate for the French presidency and a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin.
Although Glucksmann has not officially declared his candidacy, he announced on Tuesday that he was the target of a destabilization operation eight months ahead of the presidential election. He said the General Secretariat for National Defence and Security informed him that the attack was carried out by the Storm-1516 group, which is directly operated by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.
Fabricated video allegations
According to the Paris prosecutor's office, the fabricated report impersonated the French media outlet Blast. It claimed that Glucksmann's partner, journalist Léa Salamé, attempted to bribe multiple media outlets to secure favorable coverage for his prospective 2027 campaign.
Pro-Russian networks have also targeted declared candidates Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal in recent days. Paris prosecutors assigned the investigation to the cybercrime unit to examine potential crimes involving fake images produced to serve the interests of a foreign power or an entity under foreign control.
