French authorities have warned that a Russian manipulation campaign is attempting to implicate President Emmanuel Macron in the Jeffrey Epstein files, following the partial release of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice on January 30.
According to Viginum, France’s agency tasked with countering foreign information manipulation, a fake story published on a website imitating the French outlet “France Soir” served as the catalyst for the campaign.
The fabricated article falsely claimed that the French president had attended multiple parties at Epstein’s Paris residence and alleged that he had said he liked young boys.
Viginum also warned that the campaign bears the hallmark of the Russian operation “Storm-1516”, which spreads fabricated narratives aligned with Kremlin interests.
The fake article was signed under the name of a journalist who works for the French newspaper Le Parisien, a well-known tactic used in pro-Russian propaganda operations.
Parts of the story were later amplified on social media, including a video disguised as a legitimate news report, suggesting that Macron had organized a party with young boys just one week after taking office for his first presidential term in May 2017.
French institutions responded by stating that the video presented as originating from the Epstein files was in fact generated using artificial intelligence.
