French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot took the accusations to the UN Security Council, demanding that Russia, whose envoy was in the chamber, immediately halt the attacks.

Barrot said Russia used a branch of the GRU military intelligence known as the “APT28 attack group”. Also known as Fancy Bear, the branch has been linked to global attacks including in the 2016 US election, when emails of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were leaked.

France’s foreign ministry said that since 2021, APT28 had targeted a dozen French entities in the “defence, financial and economic sectors”.

Barrot linked the renewed APT28 attacks to France’s support for Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

“They targeted a dozen French entities – public services, enterprises, sporting organisations linked to the Olympic Games and Paralympics,” he told a Security Council debate on Ukraine. France and Russia are two of the council’s five permanent members.

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Media is another key target of the hackers, the foreign ministry added.

In 2015, ATP28 – posing as Islamic State militants – hacked the French TV5 Monde channel “to manipulate public opinion” and “create a panic in France”, it said.

France has been a frequent target of Islamist attacks over the last decade, notably in 2015 when at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris.

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Several international intelligence services, including German authorities, warned in September 2024 of Fancy Bear cyberattacks against NATO countries.

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Poland, a staunch ally of Kyiv, has warned that Moscow might seek to interfere with a presidential vote set for May 18 through cyberattacks and disinformation.

France and Poland will sign a “friendship treaty” on May 9, when Russian President Vladimir Putin is to preside over a huge parade in Moscow to mark victory in World War II.

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