Khaberni - Informed sources reported that French authorities have officially started investigating a potential involvement by an Israeli company named "Black Core" in a foreign intervention campaign targeting candidates from the "France Unbowed" party, a far-left group, prior to the municipal elections held last March.
According to 3 sources who spoke to Reuters, French intelligence agencies are currently working to identify the entity that instructed the company to carry out a smear campaign targeting at least 3 mayoral candidates in cities like Marseille, Toulouse, and Roubaix.
The campaign included the creation of misleading websites and fake social media accounts that promoted allegations of criminal behaviors by the candidates.
Despite the company describing itself on its website and LinkedIn page as an "elite specialized in influence and information warfare", these platforms were later shut down.
Attempts to verify the official headquarters of the company or to find any records of it in Israel were unsuccessful, while the Israeli Foreign Ministry denied any knowledge of the company's existence.
The misinformation campaign suspected of being carried out by the Israeli company coincides with the French party's prominent stance on Palestinian rights, as it caused them internal problems and tensions with allies due to their rejection of Israeli aggression on Gaza and their advocacy for ending the war and demanding equitable peace for Palestinians, exposing them to severe attacks from French media.
Coordinated Fraudulent Behavior
In the context of the investigations, Meta revealed that it has removed a network of accounts and pages for violating the rules of "coordinated inauthentic behavior", confirming that this illicit activity originated in Israel and primarily targeted France.
Google and TikTok also detected aspects of the operation, with the latter having deleted an account that promoted fake websites used in the smear campaign.
The French official agency Vigienum, concerned with combating misinformation and protection from foreign digital interference, had earlier warned of a "foreign digital interference" scheme targeting a French political party, a statement confirmed by "France Unbowed" party which announced its cooperation with the investigators, expressing concerns about the repetition of such attacks with the evolution of technological tools.
The developments come amid intense political polarization in France, where the "France Unbowed" party is seen as an influential force with a support base ranging from 10% to 15%.
Analysts believe that this percentage might enable the party to reach the second round of the presidential elections scheduled for 2027, raising concerns among centrist currents about a potential face-off between the far-left and the far-right.
