Mariem Njeh
18 August 2026•Update: 18 August 2026
Russia firmly denies allegations that it is interfering in France’s internal affairs ahead of the country's spring 2027 presidential election, the Russian Embassy in Paris told Anadolu, adding that efforts to exploit the idea of a "Russian threat" are "doomed to failure."
“As has already been stated repeatedly, Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states,” the Russian Embassy said.
“At the same time, we note that the governments of Western countries, including France, are increasingly making unfounded and gratuitous accusations against Russia and actively exploiting the narrative they themselves created of a so-called ‘Russian threat’ to justify both their anti-Russian policy, which is doomed to failure, and the militarization of their countries, accompanied by a considerable increase in military spending,” the embassy added.
Touching on rising defense spending by Paris, it added: “It is also clear that redirecting budgetary resources toward military spending comes at the expense of socially important sectors and at the cost of a worsening budget deficit, leading to ballooning public debt for which future generations will have to pay.”
“There is no doubt that the political leaders making such accusations against Russia are attempting to blame our country for their own disastrous governance, which is leading to a deterioration in the economic situation, a decline in industrial production, widening social inequalities and falling purchasing power in their countries,” the embassy added.
Allegations by French officials, politicians
The response comes after several months marked by a series of allegations of Russian interference made by French officials and politicians.
France’s foreign digital interference watchdog VIGINUM attributed disinformation operations carried out this summer to two networks described by French authorities as pro-Russian, Matryoshka and Storm-1516, according to French media reports.
The operations reportedly targeted Renaissance party leader and presidential candidate Gabriel Attal, as well as Horizons party leader Edouard Philippe and European Parliament member Raphael Glucksmann.
Attal directly accused Moscow of seeking to influence the 2027 presidential election.
“Russia wants to steal the presidential election from the French people by preventing them from making an informed choice,” the former premier said, calling the latest alleged interference operation “no surprise.”
French President Emmanuel Macron also addressed the issue in February, accusing Russia of “massively buying millions of fake accounts during election periods.”
Ahead of the June 2024 European Parliament elections, Jean-Noel Barrot, then France’s minister delegate for Europe, also accused Russia in an interview with Ouest-France daily.
Asked whether the threat of foreign interference was real, he said: “It is real. We are being bombarded by the propaganda of (President) Vladimir Putin’s Russia and its proxies. Hardly a week goes by without France being targeted by coordinated and deliberate maneuvers intended to disrupt public debate and interfere in the European election campaign.”
Contacted by Anadolu, VIGINUM has yet to respond.
France's presidential elections are set for April 18, 2027, followed by a second round on May 2 if no candidate gets a majority in round one.
