The Russian hacker group is known by the name Fancy Bear or APT28, and it is believed to be subordinate to Russia's intelligence service GRU. It is now accused of involvement in both the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 and Emmanuel Macron's campaign ahead of the presidential election in 2017.
The French defense, finance, and economic sectors have also been targeted since 2021, according to the country's foreign ministry.
"France strongly condemns Russia's military intelligence service's use of the attack group APT28, the source of several cyberattacks against French interests", reads a statement from the French Foreign Ministry.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot writes on X that GRU has carried out cyberattacks against France over "several years".
The hacker group is linked to dozens of global cyberattacks, including the 2016 US election, where the group is accused of helping Donald Trump by leaking emails from the Democrats and Hillary Clinton's campaign.
In France, thousands of documents were leaked, apparently stolen from Macron's staff, just 24 hours before the presidential election in 2017. The leak is not believed to have affected the election to a greater extent.
Last September, several intelligence services, including Germany's, warned of cyberattacks that Fancy Bear is suspected of targeting NATO countries.
