Russia's hybrid warfare threat 'real' warns France's interior minister

His comments about the use of military and non-military methods to destabilise another country without openly delcaring war, follow President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of a plan to protect critical infrastructure in France against the ploy.

"The nature of Russian aggression and the threats in Europe are changing," said Macron after a meeting on Friday at the Élysée Palace in Paris with party leaders and candidates for the 2027 presidential election.

The protection plan, addressing drone attacks and cyberattacks, will also cover the most sensitive sites in France's defence industrial and technological base, Macron said.

'A threat that is real'

"We are talking about a threat that is real, a threat that is documented, a hybrid warfare threat being waged by Russia," said Nunez during an interview with the French broadcaster BFMTV/RMC on Monday.

He said it would be irresponsible to minimise the threat.

"The majority of intelligence services in all European countries, and of course our French intelligence services, have identified and characterised this Russian hybrid warfare threat," he added, citing as examples an attempted attack involving an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig airport in Germany in August and drone overflights of several European airports in recent months.

France has not detected any drone overflights in its territory or any major act of sabotage, Nunez said.

Data-rich systems and weak security: why France is a target for cyberattacks

But it has been the target of cyberattacks. Just before last Christmas, the French national post office was hit. Mail and parcel deliveries were disrupted and the post office's online services were also affected.

Customers of the group's banking arm were also unable to access their online banking app.

In August, the cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office launched an inquiry into the fraudulent extraction of data from a state-operated personal information system. The investigation was entrusted to France's Office for the Fight against Cybercrime, known as Ofac.

To address such threats, Nunez explained France was rolling out the plan to protect the country's infrastructure, including mapping the sites that need to be protected.

"There are protective measures being taken by the operators [of the sites]. There are patrols and rounds carried out by internal security forces as well as contacts being established between the intelligence services and these operators," Nunez said.

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"Hybrid warfare, particularly that being conducted by Russia, aims to target our infrastructure networks and our defence industrial base, the very base that supports Ukraine," he added.

Asked about the possibility of a Russian hybrid attack being behind the derailment of a regional train in Normandy on 11 September, Nunez said that no possibility had been ruled out.

"The investigation is still ongoing," he added. "Prosecutors will communicate information in due course."

(With newswires)