French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Monday that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind a series of attacks targeting French supermarket fridges on the night of October 11-12.
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Speaking after a G7 ministerial in Paris, Barrot said that an investigation was underway and that Iran’s ambassador to France would be summoned. He added that France would target perpetrators by taking the necessary sanctions at a European level.
Speaking later, the EU’s Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 16 November would provide a chance to discuss cyberattacks taking place across Europe.
“If they are attributed, our response should be stronger”, she said.
The incident on 11-12 October targeted refrigeration units across more than 700 French retailers. Stores belonging to Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarché and Coopérative U were among those hit when attackers manually overrode fridge temperatures.
In a statement issued following Barrot’s declaration, France’s Foreign Affairs Ministry underlined that the cyberattacks had caused “significant material damage, including fires, and the estimated loss of food and other goods amounting to tens of millions of euros.”
“They represent a major threat to the interests of the Nation and the security of French citizens”, said the Ministry.
Authorities added that this was not the first time Iran had targeted France with “destabilisation acts”, citing a hack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in 2023 and hostile actions during the 2024 Olympic Games.
