French President Emmanuel Macron has formally denied allegations that the CIA provided intelligence to France regarding a potential Russian drone operation aimed at Southern Europe. During a joint interview broadcast on France 2 and TF1, the President stated, "We can deny this piece of information, the CIA did not inform France of this information and the Italian defence minister said the same thing."
The claims originated from an article published on Thursday by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, which declared that the CIA had alerted several southern European governments to a possible Russian drone operation targeting Spain, France, and Italy. Shortly after the report surfaced, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto refuted the allegations. Writing on X, Crosetto declared that "the alarm raised this morning by a Spanish newspaper that hypothesises possible attacks on Italy, Spain, and France by Russian ships and drones serves no one and is not confirmed." He added that in the current "nervous" climate, there is no need to "fuel the fire."
Discussing the broader context of Russia's ongoing and intensifying hybrid campaign against Europe, Macron pointed to the drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport on the night of 4-5 August 2026, which German authorities have attributed to Russia. While noting that France has not yet experienced a comparable attack, the President warned that one remained possible, stating, "When you ask me, 'Could this happen?' my answer is yes."
Macron characterized the possibility of Russia seeking to launch an attack against Europe as "plausible," noting that there are several signs indicating that Russia is preparing to do this. Furthermore, he addressed speculation regarding Russian mobilization plans, describing a potential new call-up of around 300,000 personnel as a "credible scenario" that was "often shared." According to the French leader, this points to Moscow's willingness to "make even greater sacrifices to take over the entire Donbas," a goal he estimates would require Russia to advance for "a year and a half, two years" at the current pace, resulting in "terrible losses and suffering for Ukraine."
