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French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the Russian hybrid threat against Europe and France has grown in recent weeks prompting him to direct authorities to draft a protection plan for critical infrastructure and the most sensitive defence industry sites. According to reports from France 24 and EL PAÍS Macron tasked the government with countering potential drone and cyber assaults on these assets while stressing that recent incidents targeting France would receive a response. He convened political party leaders at the Élysée Palace to review the deteriorating international situation and its implications for national security and energy supplies.
Macron cited last month’s explosive drone discovery at Leipzig airport in Germany which local authorities attributed to Russia as well as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s assessment of planned strikes on Nato’s eastern flank including Poland. “In recent weeks the Russian hybrid threat against Europeans and against France has intensified” Macron stated adding that the intent was to intimidate Europe and undermine support for Ukraine. “The result will be the exact opposite” he continued “We are not intimidated because we know that our security today and tomorrow is at stake in Ukraine.”
A GLOBSEC assessment updated in February 2026 catalogued 151 incidents of Russian-linked criminality used as hybrid warfare across Europe since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine with 41 additional cases noted in the latest review. The report placed Poland as the most affected country with 31 documented episodes many involving sabotage espionage and efforts to inflame ethnic tensions through proxy actors. According to the GLOBSEC findings Russia maintained kinetic hybrid operations from mid-2025 into early 2026 including plots to mail incendiary devices and deploy trained operatives for symbolic attacks on religious sites.
France’s domestic intelligence director Céline Berthon cautioned in August 2026 that the Leipzig airport event signals a risk of more direct and violent actions on French territory a warning carried by POLITICO. Berthon told a business audience that interference acts on French soil have risen sharply since 2022 encompassing disinformation campaigns and physical provocations such as graffiti and fake coffins. The DGSI chief characterised the pattern as elements of an undeclared conflict already affecting the country.
Hybrid activities surged through the summer of 2026 with multiple drone incursions over Romanian energy platforms Lithuanian airspace and German military facilities according to a Bloomberg review of regional security reports. Romanian intelligence thwarted a surveillance ring photographing Ukrainian cargo planes and defence sites while NATO jets intercepted unmanned aircraft entering from Belarus and Moldova. German officials tied the Leipzig explosive device to Russian tactics aimed at disrupting supply routes to Ukraine with similar patterns observed in suspected Baltic Sea cable sabotage and arson attempts on defence plants in Italy Slovakia and the United Kingdom.
The Soufan Center tracked 255 hybrid incidents from 2022 through 2025 across France Germany Britain Estonia Moldova and Georgia noting an evolution toward physical sabotage in 2025 that included fires at ammunition facilities and mapping of supply chains. European responses have featured arrests of proxy operatives diplomatic expulsions and heightened patrols but officials acknowledge difficulty in fully deterring operations that blend criminal networks with state direction. A South China Morning Post analysis described the campaign as a “war without battle” that has grown bolder and deeper into the continent while achieving limited strategic gains for Moscow.
Macron declared that France would initiate a G7 gathering to address energy vulnerabilities and coordinate with the European Commission on gas reserves in light of the escalated risks. The president underlined that the changing nature of Russian aggression demands constant vigilance and proactive planning across Europe. He reiterated that European unity in backing Ukraine remains the decisive factor in countering these hybrid pressures.
