Macron calls for preparing critical infrastructures in the face of Russia's hybrid attacks
The French president assures that the threat from Moscow for Europeans and for France has intensified
BrusselsFrench President Emmanuel Macron has called for France's infrastructure to be prepared against hybrid attacks from Moscow. "The Russian hybrid threat to Europeans and France has intensified" in recent weeks, the leader asserted this Friday from the Élysée. For this reason, he has asked the executive to prepare a plan to protect the country's "critical infrastructure".
After meeting with party leaders and candidates for the 2027 presidential elections, Macron noted that "the nature of Russian aggression is changing". Episodes such as the attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in Germany, or the drone attack on a train on the border between Poland and Ukraine, illustrate this shift, in the leader's view, and confirm that the situation is "serious".
Macron attributes the attacks to a desire by the Kremlin "to intimidate us and undermine the effort to support the Ukrainians". But he assures that he will not back down in the face of threats. "We do not feel intimidated because we know that our security is at stake in Ukraine," he concluded.
Thus, he detailed that the protection plan against drone attacks and cyberattacks will also protect the "most sensitive" sites of the French industrial and technological base. France is also working to combat foreign interference and cyberattacks by reinforcing existing mechanisms, and he recalled Viginum, the body created five years ago to detect and combat information manipulation operations.
Hours earlier, the French Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, had explained on X that the French authorities were coordinating with local actors to mobilize the necessary resources in terms of defense to "be prepared" for the "new threats".
Macron's statements come at a decisive moment for the continent. Several heads of state have raised their voices in the face of the intensification of hybrid attacks coming from Russia. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned this Thursday that the Kremlin was preparing missile attacks against NATO. "We do not seek war, but if anyone dares to attack us, they will receive a decisive response," he stated.
