France is stepping up its fight against foreign interference after cyberattacks disrupted supermarket refrigeration systems and knocked a key national security website offline. New legislation is being examined on Wednesday, a day after Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot vowed to tolerate no meddling from abroad – even from countries considered partners.
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A cyberattack paralysed the website of France's General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN), a body attached to the prime minister, for several hours on Tuesday.
The site was hit by a denial-of-service attack, also called a DDoS attack, sources told RFI. Such attacks overwhelm an online service with requests until it becomes inaccessible.
No one has claimed responsibility.
The attack carries symbolic weight because the SGDSN site is home to Viginum, France's service for detecting and countering foreign digital interference.
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Supermarket hit
Dozens of supermarkets are still assessing damage from a separate cyberattack that disrupted refrigeration systems earlier this week. The offensive, which has not been claimed, struck several countries, including France.
Some 700 of roughly 10,000 food retail sites across France were affected, but there was no threat to the country's food supplies, Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure told parliament on Tuesday.
The sites concerned were restocking their shelves. The attack “strikes at the heart of French food sovereignty”, Lescure said.
Foreign pressure
France is taking a tougher line on attempts from abroad to influence its politics. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot used a speech at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris on Tuesday to warn that such interference would not be tolerated.
Interventions by US billionaire Elon Musk came under sharp criticism from Barrot, who also pointed to attempts to exploit high-school protests in France.
He singled out Iran, Russia and China, as well as the MAGA movement of US President Donald Trump’s supporters.
“We will not tolerate any foreign interference, wherever it comes from,” France’s top diplomat said, arguing that such meddling must be “curbed” as the presidential election approaches.
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A bill aimed at strengthening France’s response to foreign interference is being examined by the Senate Law Committee on Wednesday, before a debate in the full chamber next week.
The legislation would allow a judge to order measures to stop clearly false or misleading claims online.
Such content would have to be circulated deliberately and on a massive scale, using artificial or automated methods, and pose a serious and imminent threat to national security, French institutions or other fundamental interests of the country.
Meanwhile President Emmanuel Macron was to meet with national defence and security council on artificial intelligence on Wednesday, as France considers the security risks posed by the technology.
“Like space and nuclear technology, artificial intelligence has become a strategic field that raises major national security and sovereignty issues,” the Élysée said.
(with newswires)