France pursues Israeli manipulation of elections in Paris, New York and Scotland
The French Agency for Combating Disinformation and Foreign Information (Vignome) has widened its circle of suspicion, a month after raising official suspicions about the manipulation of French local elections by an Israeli company.
The Israeli company Blackcore, which is suspected of interfering in the French local elections last March, is now suspected of engaging in similar activities that included interfering in the New York City elections, elections in Scotland, as well as monitoring suspicious activities in Angola and Togo.
Last month, French authorities expressed strong suspicions that Blackcore was behind a systematic online smear campaign targeting three candidates in the municipal elections from the far-left pro-Palestinian party of France.
Global expansion of digital interventions
Marc-Antoine Brelan, head of the Vigenum agency, explained in a press conference held in the presence of French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, that the technical investigations led them directly to the Israeli company "Blackcore".
The agency subsequently provided a detailed report on the activities suspected of being carried out globally.
"This modus operandi has not been limited to municipal elections in France; it also appears to have been used to carry out foreign digital interventions in other countries and regions, such as Angola and Togo, the Scottish elections, and the 2025 municipal elections in New York City," Brilland added.
However, Brilland noted that investigations have not yet reached the "sponsor" that tasked the company with interfering in French affairs.
For his part, Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed that the French government has asked Israel for official clarifications on the actions of the "Black Corps" and help reveal the identity of those behind the smear campaign, adding: "I do not doubt for a moment that if a private French group on our territory had been involved in a foreign digital intervention against Israel, Paris would have taken the same action with its ambassador."
On the other hand, the Israeli embassy in Paris confirmed that France had contacted it, explaining that it was waiting for the details of the French investigation to conduct an internal examination, and said in a statement: "Israel has of course no intention of interfering in the French political process, whether at the national or local level."
Were Mamdani and Sweeney among the targets?
The head of Viginum declined to explicitly name those targeted in last year's New York City election, which was won by Democrat Zahran Mamdani.
Although Mamdani's victory delighted many young progressive Jews, it alarmed traditional pro-Tel Aviv circles because of his outspoken support for the Palestinian cause.
There has been no immediate comment from Mamdani's team or state officials, while the FBI declined to comment.
In a related context, the "Viginum" report stated that the agency monitored accounts linked to "Blackcore" targeting John Swinney, the Prime Minister of Scotland, who had described the situation in Gaza as a "man-made humanitarian catastrophe" and hinted at the suspicion of "genocide."
Before Blackcore deleted its digital presence and shut down its website altogether following inquiries from Reuters, the company described itself as "an elite influencer, cyber and technology company, created for the modern information warfare era," noting that it provides governments and political campaigns with "sophisticated strategies to shape narratives."
Paris is a spearhead against the Israeli right
This digital pursuit comes at a time when France is leading the way in a tougher European stance toward the Israeli government's practices.
Paris recently banned the display of Israeli offensive weapons at the 2026 Eurosatori Defense and Security Exhibition, scheduled for Paris this month, a decision that the Israeli Defense Ministry called "shameful."
Paris has repeatedly condemned Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory, and last month called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after the Israeli army seized the historic al-Shuqif fortress in southern Lebanon and raised its flag over it.
In a further escalatory step, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrow announced that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, along with 4 leaders of settlement organizations and 21 settlers, had been banned from entering French territory, denouncing policies that undermine the two-state solution and fuel violence in the West Bank, in line with similar steps taken by international allies such as Britain, Canada, and Australia.