France. Prime Minister advocates the creation of "new cyber unit"

The French Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, defended the creation of a “new cyber unit” for a “more agile operational response” to cyberattacks and regretted that “few ministries are up to standards” in terms of cybersecurity.

20/08/2026
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“Hit is an urgent need to conceive and implement without delay a more agile and robust operational response to the cyberattacks that the state currently faces. We must resume the initiative on the ground”, stressed the Prime Minister in a letter to the Secretary-General of Defense and National Security, whose department oversees the National Cyber Security Agency of France (ANSSI).

“I request that a contact team be set up composed of ANSSI agents, charged with intervening on the front line in case of suspected serious violation of the integrity of the State Information System,” Sébastien Lecornu added in the letter, whose copy was consulted by the France-Presse (AFP).

The head of the French government also asked the Secretary-General of Defense and National Security to present by Friday a “proposal for the organization and rules of action of this new unit”.

French justice investigates data theft of 678,000 taxpayers

The French judicial authorities opened an investigation into a cyberattack against the tax in June, which resulted in the theft of tax data of 678,000 taxpayers (private and corporate), although it only discovered the violation this week.

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The Prime Minister acknowledged and regretted that, in terms of cybersecurity, “ few ministries are at the required level” in France, considering the situation “unacceptable”.

The French authorities apologized on Tuesday for the massive cyberattack to the taxman, which resulted in the theft of data of almost 700,000 people, in a context of increased incidence of cyberattacks in France in recent months.

This attack is added to a long list of similar incidents targeting government bodies and public services, rekindling the debate on the level of state preparation.

Chinese companies criticize EU proposals on cybersecurity

The Chinese business sector today criticized two European Union legislative projects on cybersecurity and industrial policy, claiming that they introduce discriminatory restrictions on foreign companies and may violate the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

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In mid-April, the National Documentary Security Agency (ANTS), responsible for managing requests for identification documents, was the subject of a massive attack that affected the data of almost 12 million individuals and companies.

France is among the countries most targeted by cyberattacks, due to the attractiveness of its data, but also to certain weaknesses in its defences.

“ We have such a complex state information system, composed of thousands and thousands of applications whose management is not standardized and whose technological choices are extremely heterogeneous,” explained Vincent Strubel, director-general of ANSSI, in May, during a hearing in parliament.