The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has announced that he has ordered this Friday to launch a specific plan to strengthen the protection of France against possible attacks on critical infrastructure on national territory, in a context marked by the growing "aggressiveness" of Russia, which, he has denounced, has "multiplied attacks against European interests".
Macron has explained that, during the security committee meeting held with the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, he requested the Executive to "prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure", as well as "the most sensitive sites of the industrial and technological Defense base, against drone attacks and cyberattacks".
In his speech, the head of the Élysée has emphasized that hybrid attacks attributed to Russia have intensified in recent months. "Since this summer, Russia has multiplied attacks against European interests. I want to say here that the nature of Russian aggressiveness and its threats in Europe is changing," he indicated, mentioning as an example the incident at Leipzig airport that German authorities linked to an attempted Russian attack.
Macron has also reminded that France continues to strengthen its response capabilities against external interference and offensives in cyberspace. "France was one of the first countries in Europe to organize itself in this area, creating Viginum five years ago, developing its methods and helping Romania or Moldova, to name just a few examples, when they were subjected to attacks," he pointed out.
In parallel, Nuñez has confirmed that action will be taken in a coordinated manner at all levels of the Administration, from the regional to the local level, with the aim of anticipating and preparing for "hybrid threats".
This announcement is framed within the conclusions of the security committee held on Thursday in France, after which the Minister of the Interior has urged to "close ranks" within the entire French administration. "The increase of hybrid threats across Europe: cyberattacks, damage to our critical infrastructure, acts of destabilization, disinformation campaigns, forces us to close ranks," he warned.