France probing if Israeli firm BlackCore interfered in elections, sources tell Reuters

French authorities are examining whether a foreign interference campaign aimed at a hard-left party ahead of March’s municipal elections was carried out at least in part by an obscure Israeli firm called BlackCore, three sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters.

French intelligence agencies are now investigating who may have commissioned the alleged BlackCore campaign to smear three France Unbowed candidates in a campaign that included deceptive websites and social media accounts alleging criminal behavior, as well as disparaging digital ads, two of the sources say.

Reuters could not independently establish who was behind BlackCore, verify where it was based, or find any reference to the company in Israeli corporate records.

BlackCore did not respond to repeated messages sent via a contact form on its website and its LinkedIn page – both of which were subsequently taken offline.

French prosecutors either did not return messages or declined comment about BlackCore’s alleged activities. Viginum, a disinformation detection service within the French prime minister’s office, also declined to comment.

BlackCore describes itself on its website and LinkedIn page as “an elite influence, cyber, and technology company built for the modern era of information warfare.” It said it provided governments and political campaigns with “cutting-edge strategies, advanced tools, and robust security to shape narratives.”

The reported operation targeted Marseille mayoral candidate Sébastien Delogu, Toulouse contender François Piquemal and their Roubaix counterpart David Guiraud, according to French authorities and the candidates themselves.

Its broad outlines were first exposed by newspaper Le Monde in March, when Viginum revealed a “foreign digital interference” scheme with “limited” reach targeting a “French political party” and its candidates in Marseille, Toulouse and Roubaix.

Polls show France Unbowed – an anti-Israel party known by its French acronym LFI – divides opinion.

The party is regularly accused of antisemitism by some Jewish community leaders and political rivals – claims it denies – while many business figures fret about its high tax-and-spend policies.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry tells Reuters it was not aware of BlackCore. It did not address the question of whether the French government had been in touch over the election interference allegations. France’s foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.