On Friday 18 September, Emmanuel Macron gathered the main candidates for his succession, or their representatives, to discuss the deterioration of the international situation, the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the rise in energy prices.
At the end of the meeting, the French President announced that he had asked the government to prepare a plan to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure and sensitive sites of the defence industry against the threats posed by drones and cyber attacks. He also called for increased vigilance in the face of what he described as an intensification of the « hybrid attacks » Russia in Europe.
Emmanuel Macron felt that these actions were aimed in particular at intimidating Europeans and weakening their support for Ukraine. He assured that these threats would not remain « no answer » and called for strengthening defence capabilities and national resilience, including in the civilian field.
