A sophisticated cyber espionage and defamation campaign orchestrated by the Israeli firm BlackCore targeting left-wing, pro-Palestinian candidates from La France Insoumise (LFI) has sent shockwaves through the French political establishment. According to Middle East Eye, the covert operations, which struck during the March municipal elections in Marseille, Toulouse, and Roubaix, utilized automated fake accounts, localized smear advertisements, and highly sensitive data leaks, including the personal tax information and passwords of LFI MP François Piquemal.

Victims and security analysts have condemned the operation as an unprecedented assault on French democratic sovereignty, designed specifically to penalize LFI candidates for their vocal opposition to Israel's genocide in Gaza.

The digital footprints of the interference lead back to technology firms based in Tel Aviv, raising critical questions about foreign state involvement. In Toulouse, where Piquemal narrowly lost his mayoral bid to right-wing incumbent Jean-Luc Moudenc, the cyber onslaught coincided with an intense domestic pushback from local branches of the pro-Israel lobbying group Elnet and the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (Crif).

Despite an investigation by France's digital interference watchdog, Viginum, allegations have surfaced that the French state has attempted to redact and shelve the findings to avoid a major diplomatic rupture with Tel Aviv, while Paris prosecutors have opened an independent criminal probe into organized election destabilization.

The high-tech sabotage is widely viewed by intelligence experts as a dangerous "dress rehearsal" for deep-seated interference ahead of France's 2027 presidential election. Security analysts note that while French intelligence historically braced for Russian disinformation, the threat from Israel has caught the state off guard.

As right-wing forces like Jordan Bardella’s National Rally pivot toward pro-Israel stances to gain international backing, LFI officials warn that the lack of robust independent monitoring bodies leaves France's upcoming national ballots highly vulnerable to sophisticated foreign manipulation.

https://t.me/thecradlemedia/61016

Israeli firm conducts 'sophisticated' smear campaign of left-wing candidates in France: Report