The interference campaign targeting LFI candidates during the March municipal elections was carried out from Israel, a source informed of the matter told AFP on Thursday. The French dailies Libération and Israeli Haaretz discuss the role of two companies based in the country.
This operation, unveiled on March 10, implemented several sites and accounts presenting “inauthenticity characteristics”, notably “photos generated by artificial intelligence and common creation dates”, Viginum announced. service responsible for combating online manipulation indicates that this campaign had only “low visibility” on the networks.
“Our country’s intelligence services suspect the Israeli company BlackCore of interference against us during the municipal campaign. Three LFI candidates were targeted: Sébastien Delogu, François Piquemal and David Guiraud, candidates in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) and Roubaix (North), according to the leader of La France insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “Result: thousands of messages distributed to lie, to drag them through the mud. We are asking the government for a law to combat foreign interference,” he said on X. The radical left party is very critical of the Israeli government’s policy towards the Palestinians and in the Gaza Strip.
State character not established
The French services have in fact highlighted the role of an entity linked to Israeli interests called “BlackCore”, but which is only “the gateway to a much more complex enterprise”, a a source informed about the matter told AFP. According to this source, the manipulation campaign does indeed come from Israel but the state nature or not of this interference has not been established.
According to Libération and Haaretz, BlackCore, whose website is now offline, boasts 15 years of experience, but its domain name was only registered in August 2025. The entity, which is not listed in the Israeli business register, is presents itself as an “elite company specializing in influence, cyber and technology, designed for the modern era of information warfare,” according to Libération.
In a long investigation, Libération explains that it studied Internet subdomains linked to BlackCore with Haaretz. These refer to two Israeli companies, Galacticos Ltd. and SNI Digital, both of which are headed by the same man, Doron Afik. “Galacticos has no affiliation, no partnership or any knowledge of an entity called BlackCore,” reacted Don Afik, interviewed by Libération and Haaretz.
