Over the course of the summer, Céline Berthon, the first woman to lead France’s domestic intelligence agency (the General Directorate for Internal Security) was targeted by a disinformation campaign, which alleged she had resigned.
In July, two screenshots of an article that appeared to have been published by French newspaper Le Monde emerged on social media sharing these allegations, however, Berthon, who started this position in January 2024, is still in office.
Two mysterious screenshots emerge online
A first screenshot shared online includes an article headline that states: “It’s out of control: intelligence chief resigns after soaring online revenues, threatens to cause euro to crash”, with a publication date of 27 July.
A second screenshot displays a photograph of Berthon, alongside a paragraph alleging that she resigned because she was unable to prevent the illicit flow of money to cryptocurrency operations occurring in France.
Many of the users sharing the claim and screenshots also relayed a statement alleging these so-called illicit cryptocurrency operations were orchestrated by the domestic intelligence agency which Berthon helms, additionally claiming that these so-called untraceable funds could be used by the state to crackdown on protests, such as the mass demonstrations expected in the autumn.
To support their claims, online users alleged that Le Monde had deleted its article, arguing that an online clean up job had been undertaken to ensure that the story disappeared from the internet.
Ties to pro-Russian actors
When the story first emerged online in July, it was shared with external links, which redirected social media users to an online phishing scam.
However, over the course of the summer, the scamming element disappeared and the fake news about Berthon’s resignation became the focal point.
Euroverify detected false claims about Berthon’s resignations on a host of websites that peddle pro-Russian propaganda.
These include the French Pravda network website, as well as a blog run by Frenchman Cyrille de Lattre, a former pilot and self-proclaimed “geopolitical analyst” based in Russia, who has also appeared on Russian state TV as a commentator.
In a blog entry, De Lattre accused France’s President Emmanuel Macron of covering up Berthon’s resignation, as part of what he labelled an “internal crisis”.
This is not the first time—and likely not the last—that French intelligence services have been targeted by Russian disinformation campaigns.
