In late September 2023, a Paris court sentenced four Bulgarian nationals for conspiring in a Russian hybrid war operation which involved tagging the Paris Holocaust memorial with 'red hands' and conducting similar acts across Paris. The court described the operation as coordinated from abroad with hostile intent to inflame French public opinion and exploit social cleavages. The suspects, linked also to Serbia and Moldova, were convicted with aggravating antisemitism charges. Intelligence evidence presented in court detailed a hierarchy of ringleaders issuing orders via Telegram, including instructions in Russian. Two of the defendants were paid for participation. The case represents the first trial of Russian proxy actors conducting hybrid operations in France, reflecting wider Russian efforts to destabilize Europe.

In late September 2023, a Paris court sentenced four Bulgarian nationals for conspiring in a Russian hybrid war operation which involved tagging the Paris Holocaust memorial with 'red hands' and conducting similar acts across Paris. The court described the operation as coordinated from abroad with hostile intent to inflame French public opinion and exploit social cleavages. The suspects, linked also to Serbia and Moldova, were convicted with aggravating antisemitism charges. Intelligence evidence presented in court detailed a hierarchy of ringleaders issuing orders via Telegram, including instructions in Russian. Two of the defendants were paid for participation. The case represents the first trial of Russian proxy actors conducting hybrid operations in France, reflecting wider Russian efforts to destabilize Europe.