Billionaire Elon Musk publicly endorsed French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen as 'the last hope of France' on his social media platform X. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and other politicians condemned the statement as foreign interference in the 2027 French presidential election. The National Rally party distanced itself from the endorsement, stating it does not seek overseas support. Musk's post comes amid an ongoing French criminal investigation into X's algorithm for alleged foreign interference. The endorsement follows Musk's pattern of supporting European far-right movements, including Germany's AfD and Britain's Restore Britain.

A former Moroccan DGST agent, pseudonym Safir, has provided evidence that Morocco used NSO Group's Pegasus spyware since 2017 to target journalists, human rights defenders, French politicians, and Spanish cabinet ministers including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The investigation, coordinated by Forbidden Stories, reveals over 200 Spanish mobile numbers were targeted. Morocco allegedly received Pegasus as a gift from the UAE. NSO Group was blacklisted by the US in 2021.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu visited Morocco to strengthen bilateral relations, emphasizing energy cooperation, security, and counterterrorism. A new initiative seeks to export renewable electricity from Morocco to France. The visit was overshadowed by renewed allegations that Morocco used Pegasus spyware to target French officials, including Lecornu, which Morocco denies.

Violent storms swept across several regions of France overnight, leaving around 13,000 households without electricity. The Ardeche department was hardest hit, with hailstones damaging homes, vehicles, and public buildings, and over 2,200 lightning strikes sparking a vegetation fire. Power outages also affected Sarthe and Dordogne, while rail traffic was disrupted. Fifteen departments remained under orange thunderstorm warnings and 31 under orange heat wave alerts.

French deputies and senators reached a compromise on the emergency agricultural law in a joint committee (CMP) after over six hours of talks. The agreement removes controversial measures on water storage and wetland redefinition but retains provisions to double water storage capacity by 2035 and allow derogatory use of banned pesticides for certain crops. The text faces final votes in the National Assembly and Senate next week.

The French defense ministry has chosen a consortium led by Belgian firm FN Herstal to produce 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition in France, ending a decades-long gap in domestic production. The facility in Clérieux aims for an annual capacity of 75 million rounds by 2029, addressing vulnerabilities exposed by the Ukraine war and COVID-19. The project marks a strategic shift toward European defense industrial autonomy. The project will initially involve powder loading, assembly, and packaging, with future expansion to sub-components. The contract is expected to be signed by summer 2026.

The French Navy has commissioned its newest first-rank frigate, Amiral Ronarc'h, which features an innovative inverted bow design and is engineered to counter surface, aerial, underwater, asymmetric, and cyber threats. The vessel represents France's strategic naval modernization amid renewed great-power competition at sea, as highlighted by the Ormuz crisis and tensions in cold waters.

The French Army has been accelerating drone modernization with AI and robotic units, aiming to field over 15,000 drones by 2026. In a new development, the French Air and Space Force announced plans to create a dedicated bomber and reconnaissance drone unit starting this year, initially experimental, to field Shahed-type and smaller air-launched drones, drawing lessons from conflicts in Ukraine, Iran, and Gulf operations. The move is driven by the need to address new threats, hardened air defenses, and mass requirements ahead of a potential European-Russia conflict before the end of the decade.