“The Russian sabotage circulates in Europe, to distort the elections” / “all the European counter -espionage services are mobilized” – things about Romania reported by Vigum, the French Supervisory Service against foreign digital interference

Russian saboteurs prepared to act against EU elections were trained in the Balkans, especially by a Bulgarian neonazist sought by French justice because they would be responsible for the red hands on the Shoah Memorial in Paris, writes Mediapart investigation site.

DGSI, the French Internal Intelligence Service, found the presence in France of some sabotets in the Kremlin balance, say journalists from Mediapart, in an article published on Saturday, May 3. According to a source close to the file, the sabotage would represent “a real threat to the future elections in Europe”.

According to the notes consulted by Mediapart, the “Russian Presidential Administration” is no longer satisfied with the misinformation maneuvers. “Violent” interference operations have been detected in the last months in different countries where elections were taking place.

“All European counter -espionage services are mobilized,” is shown in the conclusion of a report of one of these services, which Mediapart cites.

The intelligence services in France are interested in the subject, especially since “the destabilization methods applied in the neighboring countries are likely to be used by Russia around us.”

The following target anticipated by French services: Poland and its presidential elections on May 18 and June 1. But the Republic of Moldova and Romania also appear in the article.

Bomb threats at polling stations

“Prior to the presidential elections in Moldova and the 2024 referendum, the Moldovan secret services warned their European counterparts on the risk of false bomb threats in the polling stations abroad.”

“At the peak time of November 3, during the second round of the presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova, bomb threats were launched at the polling stations in the Paris, Bordeaux and Marseille, but also in Germany, Spain, Italy, Romania, the United Kingdom and Ukraine,” writes Mediapart.

In Romania, a bomb alert was identified at a section in Brasov, where Moldovan citizens voted. The threats were not confirmed real, but they disturbed the voting process from the respective sections.

Georgescu, Potra and Expulsion of Russia's military attachments to Bucharest

Regarding Romania, the French write, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) has informed its various European partners about the results of its investigations regarding the Kremlin maneuvers for distorting the presidential elections in Romania in the autumn of 2024.

“According to the Romanian courts, those arrested in the file Călin Georgescu” have repeatedly entered into contact with agents of a foreign power based in both Romania and Russia, “and two of them traveled to Moscow in January. They also “actively sought the support” of the representatives of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, the military attachment and its deputy, who were expelled accordingly “.

At the same time, “Horațiu Potra, a former member of the French Foreign Legion who became mercenary in Africa” ​​is also mentioned. “Horațiu Potra ensures the guard of the far right candidate Pro-Rus Călin Georgescu, beneficiary of Kremlin coordinated interference,” notes Mediapart.

Mediapart: The Russians followed 30% of the Romanian Parliament to belong to the “sovereigns”

In another article, published before, on May 2, and quoted in Romania initially by G4media, Mediapart analyzes how Vigum, the French supervisory service against foreign digital interference, summarized Romania's case in a report.

Mediapart claims that Viginum shows that Kremlin officials have prepared their electoral action in Romania. Initially, the Russians went to Diana Şoșoaca's hand and only after the ban on the candidate, they moved their interest to Călin Georgescu.

“According to our information, writes Mediapart, the Romanian secret services also gathered information that determines that the” large -scale “interference strategy in the presidential elections was conceived and implemented by the Kremlin since the end of 2023. Its purpose was to allow a” politician representing a party with a second. Parliament in the subsequent legislative elections (no on December 1, 2024) ”.

“These uncertainties make it impossible to identify a sponsor behind the pro-Georgecu campaign”

As for Georgescu, he supports the same report of the Vigum service, things were even harder to detect by the Romanian authorities. Viginum analyzed the disclosures of the SNOOOOOop investigative site in Romania.

“According to the Romanian publication Snoop, the National Liberal Party (PNL), Proeuropean, from which the resignation president Klaus Iohannis comes, was the one who financed an advertising campaign by hiring the 130 influences through the Fameup platform.”

“Could this be an attempt by the ruling party to stimulate the Georgescu margin at the detriment of other far -right candidates are you above in polls?” Writes Mediapart.

“According to Viginum, these uncertainties make it impossible to identify a sponsor behind the pro-Georgecu campaign,” adds French journalists.

Astrourfing tactics for Georgescu

Georgescu has benefited from a “sophisticated” campaign of astrotourfing (a technique meant to artificially inflate a subject on social networks) held on Tiktok, which allowed to increase its popularity, as detailed in a vigum report.

The number of subscribers and views on his account was tripled in two weeks. The keywords associated with the candidate also enjoyed a blinding popularity, such as #calingeorgescu, which would have had over 73 million views in seven days. Exceptional results. Although the Chinese social network is very popular in Romania (almost half of the population uses it), it represents “only” 9 million people.

Russia's interest after the annulment of elections

After canceling the elections, the stake moved to the decredibility of the ability to keep free, democratic choices.

“Russia and its supporters broadcast on social networks,” massively and coordinated “, according to a European intelligence service, a message that accuses the Romanian authorities of” coup d'etat “, certain publications being accompanied by photomontations that describe the presence of tanks in the Romanian cities, denouncing the” end of the democracy “and the United States,

“This message, stripped of his excesses, was taken beyond the extreme right and entered the whole civil society. It caused Vigum to conclude his report stating that” one of the main damages caused by this handling campaign was to undermine the confidence of the voters in the reliability of the electoral processes, “writes Mediapart.