Investigation in France after accusations launched by the extreme left. Possible interference by an Israeli company is being investigated

Prosecutors in Paris have opened an investigation into whether or not an Israeli company interfered in French local elections, after several far-left candidates alleged they were targeted by disinformation campaigns, AFP wrote.

The file will examine allegations made by three members of the far-left party La France Insoumise, who say they faced smear campaigns involving false accusations and social media manipulation.

It is about Sebastien Delogu from Marseille, from the south, and Francois Piquemal from Toulouse, from the south-west, who were defeated in the elections, respectively about David Guiraud, who won the Roubaix poll, from the north.

“You get in your car and you see a billboard with your name on it and a QR code that links to false rape allegations,” Delogu told reporters last week.

Piquemal said that social media pages were created that spread “the worst rumours” and that the passwords to his social media accounts were leaked.

The three claim that they were targeted by these actions because they support the Palestinian cause.

Authorities detected a campaign “involving an actor located abroad”

The investigation was opened after Viginum, the French government body responsible for combating online disinformation, announced it had observed “a system of artificial or automated dissemination to spread manifestly inaccurate or misleading content”.

“This malicious campaign, involving an actor located abroad, may undermine the nation's fundamental interests as it deliberately seeks to distort citizens' access to information,” the institution explained.

A source connected to the case told AFP that this campaign appears to have been run from Israel.

Prosecutors said they have so far seen no indication that the Israeli government was involved.