French Republicans’ website hacked ahead of October 17 demonstrations

The website of France’s Republicans party was hacked on October 16. Party leader Bruno Retailleau’s office confirmed the attack to Franceinfo and said a complaint would be filed.

Visitors saw a page displaying emoji and a call to join demonstrations announced in France for October 17 instead of the site’s usual content. French publications Le Parisien and France-Soir also reported the page’s replacement.

The authors of the posted message claimed to have stolen website and member data, internal correspondence and private messages. That was the attackers’ claim, rather than an established finding from a data-breach investigation.

Representatives of Retailleau, who leads the party and is campaigning for the presidency in 2027, told Franceinfo that the website contained no confidential information. They also announced plans to strengthen the site’s security.