French President Emmanuel Macron denies claims the CIA informed France of a possible Russian drone operation

Published on 24/09/2026 - 21:02 GMT+2•Updated 21:05

French President Emmanuel Macron denied claims that the CIA had informed France of a possible Russian drone operation targeting southern Europe, in a joint interview aired on broadcasters France 2 and TF1.

"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", said Macron.

On Thursday, Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo published an article which declared that the CIA had alerted several southern European governments to a possible Russian drone operation targeting Spain, France and Italy.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto subsequently denied these allegations on Thursday, declaring on X 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."

"We already live in difficult, 'nervous' times, and no one needs more fuel on the fire", he added.

Russia's threat against Europe

Addressing Russia's ongoing — and intensifying — hybrid campaign against Europe, Macron referred to the drone attack which targeted the Leipzig/Halle Airport during the night of 4**–**5 August 2026, which German authorities attributed to Russia.

While Macron said that there had not been a comparable attack to date on France, he said this was possible, "when you ask me, ‘Could this happen?’ my answer is yes.”

The French President stressed that Russia considers “Europe to be the strategic heart of Ukraine", while also said that the possibility of Russia seeking to launch an attack against Europe was “plausible.”

“It is clear that there have been several signs indicating that Russia is preparing to do this", he stated.