France will not tolerate any attempt at foreign interference in its democratic debate, especially in its electoral processes.
Axar.az reports that Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot made the remarks in a post on X, stressing that France's democratic debate and electoral processes are the exclusive and inviolable property of French citizens.
"What we must be uncompromising against are attempts to falsify our democratic debate through the inauthentic, coordinated and organized online promotion of messages conceived and created abroad to distort the information space and influence elections," Barrot wrote.
In recent days, presidential candidates Edouard Philippe, Raphael Glucksmann, and Gabriel Attal have been targeted by disinformation campaigns linked to pro-Russian networks.
False claims were circulated about Philippe's health, while reports alleged that Glucksmann's journalist wife had attempted to influence the media in support of his candidacy. Attal was also targeted with false claims that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
French authorities said the incidents were part of a coordinated foreign-backed information manipulation campaign aimed at influencing the electoral process.