Macron warns of intensifying Russian hybrid attacks on European infrastructure

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that Russian hybrid attacks against European critical infrastructure and defence industry sites are intensifying, and tasked the French government with mounting an urgent protection campaign. The attacks combine cyber operations, sabotage, and disinformation targeting power grids, rail networks, and weapons production facilities across the continent.

The warning comes as European nations have reported a series of incidents in recent months. The Netherlands experienced sabotage of rail infrastructure in August; reports from multiple European capitals suggest coordinated reconnaissance of power substations and telecommunications hubs. Intelligence assessments attribute the campaigns to Russian state actors seeking to degrade European military readiness and civil resilience ahead of a broader geopolitical confrontation.

Macron's statement signals a shift in European threat assessment. Where hybrid attacks were once treated as isolated incidents, NATO and EU capitals now view them as part of a sustained campaign designed to exhaust European defences without crossing the threshold of conventional military action. The French government has not released specifics on the scale or scope of the attacks it has detected.