France to seek EU sanctions over alleged Russian interference in Africa

France's foreign minister said Tuesday he would seek European Union sanctions against those responsible for an alleged Russian interference operation targeting countries in Africa, including Cameroon and the Republic of Congo.

Jean-Noel Barrot accused Russia of seeking to manipulate public opinion in sovereign countries to harm French interests.

He said Viginum, France's agency responsible for detecting foreign digital interference, had documented the operation in a report published Tuesday.

"I will ask for European sanctions to be imposed on those responsible for this interference operation, which targets Cameroon and the Republic of Congo in particular," Barrot said on US social media platform X.

He did not specify who would be targeted by the proposed sanctions.

"Russia is desperately trying to colonize minds, but it will fail because we are not fooled," he added.

Viginum was established in 2021 to monitor and protect against foreign digital interference.

In a separate report published in 2025, the agency, the EU's diplomatic service, and the UK Foreign Office examined the activities of African Initiative, a Russian news agency they said was involved in influence operations on the continent.