Overview
- Macron on Friday directed the government to draw up a national plan to protect key civilian and defence industrial sites from drone strikes, cyber intrusions and other sabotage after French intelligence reported a rise in hostile acts on French soil.
- The protection plan will explicitly cover sensitive sites in France's industrial and technological defence base and target both kinetic threats such as weaponized drones and digital disruptions to networks.
- Paris said it will reinforce its counter‑interference tools, drawing on Viginum, the agency set up five years ago to detect foreign information manipulation, to better spot and counter influence operations.
- France confirmed closer operational ties with the United Kingdom through a so‑called coalition of volunteers and said participating countries will run exercises on European territory in the coming weeks to improve deterrence and response.
- Leaders framed the step as part of a wider response to hybrid incidents across Europe — including recent drone, rocket and airspace incursions — and warned the move could affect energy policy and election‑year security planning by prompting more resilience measures and regional coordination.