Anti-Semitic activity in France: Russian military intelligence turns to new Psyop

Russians’ activity in fueling anti-Semitism in France aims at destabilizing the situation in Paris thereby provoking Muslims living on the outskirts of the French capital to organize riots. Thus, LRI’s conclusions saying that Moscow intends to initiate religious and ethnic clashes in a number of European countries have been confirmed.

The French government accused Russia of carrying out a smear campaign using stenciled images of Stars of David that mysteriously appeared in the streets of Paris late last month. Around 60-80 stars were found in the 14^th arrondissement of the French capital, as well as in several Parisian suburbs on the morning of October, 31. The stars are all blue and all have the same size. They appear to have been hurriedly stenciled and have no accompanying text.

A statement issued on November,8 by Laure Beccuau, the prosecutor for the city of Paris, said that police had arrested a man and a woman in connection with the graffiti. Referencing surveillance camera footage, Beccuau’s statement said the two suspects had stenciled the stars overnight, working in unison with a third individual who took photographs of the graffiti. The statement added that the alleged perpetrators of the graffiti may have contacts with another couple, an unnamed 28-year-old Moldovan woman and a 33-year-old Moldovan man. Police arrested the Moldovans in Paris on October 27, for painting the same stenciled Stars of David on a building in Paris. 

We are convinced that such operations are supervised by Russian military intelligence. Obviously, its performers are representatives of the Russian-speaking diaspora. Their network consists of sleeper cells tasked with conducting influence campaigns and sabotage. It confirms the conclusion that the “yellow vest” movement in France could have been infiltrated by Russian military intelligence agents in order to put pressure on the Macron government and destabilize France politically.

The statement by the Paris prosecutor alleges that both couples had been in contact “with the same third party”, a Russian-speaking individual who had offered money in exchange for graffiting the stars. “It therefore cannot be ruled out that the tagging of the blue Stars of David in the Paris region was carried out at the explicit request of a person living abroad”, the statement concludes. Some reports speculated that the graffiti may have been part of a campaign by a “foreign actor trying to undermine French social cohesion”.November 9, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs openly accused Russia for carrying out a smear campaign aimed at amplifying the Star of David graffiti on social media, allegedly in order to discredit France. The ministry said the disinformation campaign reflected ‘a persisting opportunistic and irresponsible strategy of using international crises to create confusion and tensions in the public debate in France and in Europe’. Later on the same day, the Embassy of Russia in Paris shared a statement on social media condemning France’s ‘groundless attempts to seek out a Russian connection in events having no connection with our country and pin responsibility on Russia with the sole aim of discrediting it’.