Macron denies France received CIA warning of Russian drone attack

French President Emmanuel Macron has 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 he said “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”.

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 on Leipzig/Halle Airport on the night of 4-5 August 2026, which German authorities have attributed to Russia.

Macron said France had not experienced a comparable attack so far but warned that one remained possible. “When you ask me, ‘Could this happen?’ my answer is yes,” he said.

The French President stressed that Russia considers “Europe to be the strategic heart of Ukraine,” while also saying 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.

As speculation mounts over Russia’s possible mobilisation plans, Macron said that a new mobilisation of around 300,000 personnel was a “credible scenario” that was “often shared”.

The French leader said he viewed this as a sign that Moscow was prepared to “make even greater sacrifices to take over the entire Donbas”, estimating that Russia would need to advance for “a year and a half, two years” at the current pace to conquer the territories it does not yet control in that region, “with terrible losses and suffering for Ukraine.”