How Five Ministers of France Were Noticed Under Surveillance

Five French ministers' phones have been tapped by a spy software program. This was reported by RIA Novosti, referencing the French platform Mediapart.

According to the publication, between 2019 and 2020, the phones of the five ministers were found to be infected with surveillance software. Specifically, the ministers targeted include France's Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister for Territorial Planning Jacqueline Gourault, Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie, Minister for Overseas Territories Sébastien Lecornu, and Delegate Minister for Environmental Transition Emmanuel Wargon.

On July 18, the non-governmental organization Forbidden Stories, based in France, along with 17 media outlets from various countries, published an investigation indicating that several countries may have spied on at least 50,000 individuals around the world through the commercial Trojan software for mobile phones called Pegasus.

Meanwhile, the British newspaper The Guardian, which participated in the extensive journalistic investigation, noted that the targets of surveillance could have included leaders from states and international organizations. Specifically, the names mentioned included French President Emmanuel Macron, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and President of the European Council Charles Michel.