Foreign Hands in French Politics: Dark Box Reveals Emirati Network Targeting Left-Wing Opposition
Well-informed sources have confirmed to Dark Box that the political escalation unfolding in Paris is now understood inside French intelligence circles as a deliberate and sustained influence campaign orchestrated by networks linked to the United Arab Emirates. The target, according to these sources, is France Unbowed, the country’s largest left-wing parliamentary bloc, whose leadership now openly accuses Abu Dhabi of covert interference designed to weaken its credibility, distort political debate, and fuel Islamophobic narratives across France.
The crisis intensified after Jean-Luc Melenchon, former presidential candidate and leader of France Unbowed, declared publicly that his movement had “become a target of the Emirates.” His statement followed the party’s decision to file a formal complaint to the prosecutor’s office regarding what it describes as a foreign-connected influence operation. This operation is believed to have been activated through a highly controversial survey on Muslims in France, a survey now linked to media organisations suspected of serving Emirati political objectives.
Well-placed French officials told Dark Box that the poll aligns with a wider disinformation strategy that mirrors other documented Emirati campaigns in Europe intended to portray Islam, political activism, and any left-wing defence of Palestinian rights as security threats. According to the complaint filed by France Unbowed, the survey was built on biased questions designed to produce a narrative of widespread “re-Islamisation” and growing adherence to “Islamist ideology.” French Muslim organisations immediately filed multiple legal challenges, arguing that the survey was engineered to plant hostility and fear in the public sphere.
Dark Box sources confirmed that internal assessments within the French interior ministry identified the commissioning body, the magazine Écran de Veille, as part of a larger ecosystem of media and consultancy entities aligned with Global Watch Analysis. This network has long been associated with anti-Islam rhetoric, fierce hostility toward Qatar, and an ideological alignment with the UAE’s foreign policy stance. Atmane Tazaghart, the founder and editor of these platforms, was reportedly in email communication with a former Emirati operative involved in prior covert campaigns conducted through the Swiss intelligence firm Alp Services.
Documents reviewed by Dark Box indicate that Alp Services played a central role in previous influence operations across Europe, where more than one thousand individuals and hundreds of organisations were monitored, profiled, and falsely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. These files were subsequently passed to Emirati intelligence units and used as the basis for smear campaigns targeting activists, academics, humanitarian groups, and now political actors such as France Unbowed. Melenchon’s party is listed among more than two hundred individuals and institutions in France that appeared in these covert profiling operations.
Dark Box can also confirm that France Unbowed fears infiltration of French parliamentary structures. In its submission to prosecutors, the party highlighted that two consultants linked to Écran de Veille, Nora Bussigny and Emmanuel Razavi, were recently invited to testify before a parliamentary inquiry examining alleged Islamist infiltration in French politics. According to the party’s internal analysis, the inquiry itself may have been influenced or steered by individuals tied to a foreign agenda, particularly as both consultants have published works accusing France Unbowed of links to Iran and of promoting antisemitism, claims consistently rejected by French intelligence officials.
During his testimony before the parliamentary inquiry, Melenchon pointed to what he called a glaring omission. While no intelligence service has found any link between France Unbowed and Islamist networks, he noted that MPs have refused to acknowledge the evidence of Emirati interference, which he said is designed to manipulate French domestic politics in the service of Abu Dhabi’s regional rivalry with Qatar. He warned that France risks becoming a battlefield for foreign power struggles.
Dark Box sources confirmed that senior figures within the French interior ministry are now reviewing the broader pattern of Emirati involvement, particularly in light of the case of MP Carlos Martens Bilongo. Bilongo was targeted in 2023 by a Tracfin report alleging financial crimes. Two years later the case was dismissed, and investigative journalists revealed that the report contained errors too extensive to be accidental. Officials familiar with the inquiry told Dark Box that there is growing suspicion it was produced under indirect pressure from Emirati networks after Bilongo criticised the UAE’s organisation of the climate summit.
Analysts consulted by Dark Box believe that the operation targeting France Unbowed is consistent with a long-running Emirati strategy in Europe aimed at reshaping political discourse around Islam, suppressing pro-Palestinian voices, and elevating far-right narratives. Multiple investigations show that the UAE has previously cultivated ties with European right-wing parties, including France’s National Rally, which benefited from opaque financial arrangements passing through Emirati-linked banks.
Dark Box concludes that the widening influence operation now exposed by France Unbowed reflects a deeper geopolitical manoeuvre. With Abu Dhabi seeking to dominate regional narratives and undermine rival states, France has become the theatre for a foreign campaign intended to reshape domestic politics under the guise of combating extremism. What remains unclear is how far this network has penetrated French institutions, and whether the political establishment will confront the scale of the interference now unfolding in plain sight.
