France will hold presidential elections next year to decide who will replace Emmanuel Macron – a strong supporter of Ukraine who has held the position since 2017 and cannot run again due to term limits.
The French government is very concerned that, as the war in Ukraine continues, Russia will try to influence the election results in favor of a Kremlin-friendly candidate.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into suspected Russian disinformation campaigns targeting two main centrist candidates – former prime ministers Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal – as well as the centrist-left candidate Raphael Glucksmann.
“We are not at all surprised by (French investigators’) attempts to accuse Russia of interfering in the 2027 presidential election campaign,” said Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, calling these accusations a “fabricated story.”
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“We see that for many candidates the presidential campaign means – and this is part of the ‘mandatory program’ – publicly making statements about fighting the ‘Russian threat’ and supporting the Kyiv regime,” the statement said.
“Ultimately, it is to be hoped that the majority of French citizens will use common sense and will not be deceived by such inferior anti-Russian propaganda,” Zakharova added.
The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for April next year.
According to the latest polls, far-right politician Marine Le Pen is expected to advance to the second round, while several other candidates, including far-left representative Jean-Luc Mélenchon, are competing for the second spot.
