France warns of Russian digital interference in local elections

French intelligence services are warning of a high risk of information operations targeting local elections scheduled for March 15 and 22.

Coordinated online disinformation campaigns are considered a major threat, aimed at influencing voters and destabilizing public debate.

According to Mediapart, French security institutions point to the risk of interference in local elections through manipulation on social media, the spread of fake news and organized information operations.

Such activities do not involve direct interference in electoral systems, but aim to shape public opinion by influencing the flow of information.

In practice, this includes creating false narratives, amplifying social conflicts, and promoting content that deepens political polarization.

Information operations often exploit social media platform algorithms, which tend to favor the rapid spread of emotional or controversial content.

As noted by the CPD, France already has experience with extensive disinformation campaigns targeting the country's domestic public debate. In 2025, analysts from Insikt Group identified up to 140 websites that imitated French news media.

About 20 of them impersonated local media organizations, significantly increasing the credibility of the content they published. These fake websites were used to spread manipulated or completely fabricated information. One example included a campaign circulating false claims about alleged links between President Emmanuel Macron and the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Such tactics are particularly effective at the local level, where audiences often have limited capacity to verify sources of information and tend to have a high level of trust in local media.

The Storm-1516 Network and Digital Tools of Disinformation

Mediapart reports that some of the operations uncovered are linked to the Russian disinformation network known as Storm-1516. This structure uses a wide range of digital tools, including fake news websites, social media accounts and artificial intelligence-generated content.

A key component of these operations are so-called troll farms – networks of accounts managed in a coordinated manner.

Their goal is to massively disseminate specific narratives, amplify selected messages, and create the impression of widespread public support for certain opinions. As a result, false information can quickly gain ground and enter the mainstream information environment.

Disinformation as a tool of geopolitical influence

The growing awareness campaigns are part of a broader influence strategy pursued by Russia. Disinformation is used as a geopolitical tool aimed at weakening democratic institutions and deepening political and social divisions.

In practice, this includes attempts to undermine the credibility of state authorities, electoral institutions, and the media.

In the long term, such activities also aim to weaken the political cohesion of European states and erode public trust in democratic processes.

Warnings also in Germany

According to the CPD, similar signals are emerging from Germany. German intelligence services are reporting increased activity linked to Russian information operations in the context of the elections scheduled for 2026.

German security institutions point to a continuing increase in manipulation within the information space.

Analysts suggest that disinformation operations are becoming a permanent element of geopolitical competition, especially in periods leading up to major political events, such as elections.

The Geopost