French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that Russia’s hybrid campaign against Europe and France is growing more intense, prompting Paris to draw up emergency plans to shield critical infrastructure and defence sites from attack, according to BBC News.
Speaking at the Élysée Palace after talks with party leaders on the security fallout from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Macron said France had already been hit by Russian hybrid operations in recent weeks and would not respond “without a response”. He pointed to last month’s drone strike on Leipzig airport in Germany, widely blamed on Moscow, and to warnings from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk that Russia may be planning drone and missile strikes against NATO countries on the alliance’s eastern flank.
“In recent weeks, the Russian hybrid threat against Europeans and against France has intensified,” Macron said. “The intent is to intimidate us and break our effort to support Ukraine. The result will be the exact opposite.”
Hybrid attacks, a loose term covering cyber intrusions, sabotage, disinformation and other non military pressure are often carried out through proxies, with Russia routinely denying involvement even as evidence mounts. Across Europe, officials have reported suspicious fires at defence facilities from Italy to Estonia, some openly attributed to Moscow.
Tusk told Polish lawmakers there was a “real risk” of strikes on NATO soil, with Russia potentially claiming they were “accidental” to sow division inside the alliance. Last Sunday, a Russian drone hit a passenger train near the Ukraine–Poland border minutes after former British prime minister Boris Johnson and senior European security officials had travelled along the same line; all passengers were evacuated before the engine was struck.
While President Vladimir Putin insists Russia does not plan to attack Europe, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that sending troops to Ukraine would be seen as a declaration of war, promising a “completely different” and “very short” conflict. Moscow has also reiterated that any British military facilities in Ukraine used to strike Russian territory are “legitimate targets”.
Macron said France would convene a G7 meeting on energy security and discuss gas stocks with the European Commission, including possible releases of strategic reserves.
