Europe09 October, 20262 min read
France’s Socialist Left Primary Platform Hit By Cyberattack, Organizers Say Votes Uncompromised
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Cyberattack disrupted access to the online platform for France's Socialist and social-democratic primary. Organizers say recorded votes remained intact despite disruptions.
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Cyberattack disrupts vote
France’s Socialist and social democratic primary’s online platform suffered a cyberattack on Friday, disrupting some voters’ access while organizers said recorded votes were not compromised.
Patrick Mennucci, head of the primary’s organizing commission, said the e-votez platform “has been the victim of a cyberattack since it opened this Friday morning at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT),” and he described it as a “massive and fictitious influx of connections.”
Organizers said the attack “hinders the ability of some voters to cast their ballots,” while the platform “had remained operational and voting had continued without interruption since it opened.”
The primary’s first round opened at 8 am Friday (0600 GMT) and was scheduled to close at 8 pm Saturday (1800 GMT), with organizers planning measures to assist voters experiencing connection problems.
Candidates and electoral truce
The five contenders in the left-wing primary must uphold the “electoral truce” from Friday, October 9, to Saturday night, with all voting conducted electronically. The results are expected to be announced on Saturday, at around 8:25 pm, Paris time, and it framed the period as one in which candidates must remain silent. LCI tripled its average audience to 700,000 viewers on September 23, and France 2 saw nearly 6 million viewers in total on October 1.
Olivier Faure said in August, “There will be no blood on the walls,” as the televised debates exposed rifts within the Socialist bloc. Le Monde.fr reported that LCI tripled its average audience to 700,000 viewers on September 23, and France 2 saw nearly 6 million viewers in total on October 1.
Politics, polarization, and stakes
Five contenders competed for the title of progressive (but not radical) candidate in the social-democratic primaries for the 2027 presidential elections, with veteran Ségolène Royal and newcomer Raphaël Glucksmann as favorites.
The digital voting platform’s cyberattack prompted intervention by the National Cybersecurity Agency of France (ANSSI) and revived suspicion of foreign interference in French politics.
More than 140,000 voters were expected to participate in the two rounds, and it said the number fed expectations of a shift in campaign dynamics.
The possibility that Marine Le Pen could be the first female president provided an incentive for Royal to re-enter the race, and it quoted Royal saying, “If one day I become president of the Republic, there will be no social upheavals, because I resolve the problems beforehand...
Royal said, “If one day I become president of the Republic, there will be no social upheavals, because I resolve the problems beforehand... We have been governed by fear for ten years.”