INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia on Wednesday slammed what it called "unfounded accusations" by the French government that it hacked President Emmanuel Macron's
campaign in 2017."We strongly reject the unfounded accusations by the French side," the Russian Embassy in France said on Telegram, after
Paris accused Moscow of being behind cyberattacks against France during the last decade.France on Tuesday accused the Russian military
intelligence GRU of staging cyberattacks, including against an organisation involved in the Paris Olympics and Macron's first election
campaign in 2017.Western countries have for years accused Russian intelligence of cyberattacks and interfering in their political systems,
including election campaigns.French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot took the accusations to the UN Security Council, demanding that
Russia, whose envoy was in the chamber, immediately halt the attacks.Barrot said Russia used a branch of the GRU military intelligence known
as the "APT28 attack group." Also known as Fancy Bear, the branch has been linked to global attacks including in the 2016 United States
election, when emails of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were leaked.Relations between France and Russia have been tense since Moscow
launched its Ukraine invasion in 2022, with Paris becoming one of Kyiv's main allies.
