Israel Interfered in French Elections, Nobody Got Punished: Mélenchon

French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon denounced Benjamin Netanyahu for financing smear campaigns against his party’s municipal candidates, saying the alleged interference drew little concern and went unpunished.

Speaking at HEC, Mélenchon pointed to operations targeting La France Insoumise candidates in three cities during the March 2026 elections.

“When Mr. Netanyahu paid people to denigrate us in Toulouse, Marseille and Roubaix, apparently that wasn't a problem,” he said.

Investigators identified an Israeli company behind the operation, but had not established who commissioned it.

“Foreign interference is becoming increasingly widespread, and it goes unpunished,” Mélenchon said.

Three Campaigns Targeted

The operations targeted Sébastien Delogu in Marseille, François Piquemal in Toulouse and David Guiraud in Roubaix. Delogu and Piquemal lost their races, while Guiraud won and became mayor.

The campaigns used fabricated websites and social media profiles to circulate false allegations involving rape, sexual offenses against children and Islamist influence.

Some accounts posed as whistleblowers, while others used AI-generated profile photographs.

In Marseille, posters directed passersby through QR codes to rape allegations. Other material sought to sharpen divisions over Gaza.

France’s monitoring service Viginum detected the network around March 9–10 and identified signs that the accounts were inauthentic.

An Israeli Company, an Unidentified Sponsor

Reports published in May by Le Canard enchaîné, Libération and Haaretz said French services were examining BlackCore, described as an influence and cyber company based in Tel Aviv.

The operation later became known as “Rokh Solis.”

Reporting also linked BlackCore to other Israeli businesses and individuals with backgrounds in Israeli intelligence or cyber organizations.

On May 19, Mélenchon described BlackCore as close to Netanyahu and accused the French government of remaining silent.

He also alleged that officials wanted to remove parts of an internal note to prevent the findings from giving LFI a political platform.

On May 26–27, Paris prosecutors opened an inquiry into whether an Israeli company had targeted the campaigns on behalf of a foreign state.

At that stage, prosecutors said the information reviewed did not indicate Israeli government participation.

France Sought Answers From Israel

Viginum publicly identified BlackCore in June. Its chief said investigators had not determined who, if anyone, had commissioned the French operation.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said France had requested explanations from Israel and assistance in identifying a possible sponsor.

The Israeli embassy acknowledged the contact and said it was awaiting further details.

BlackCore did not answer press inquiries and later largely vanished from the internet. Le Temps subsequently described it as a “phantom company.”