Phones of 5 French Ministers Targeted by Pegasus Spyware: Report

Those affected are Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities Jacqueline Gourault, Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie, Minister Delegate for Housing and ex-Minister of Ecological Transition Emmanuelle Wargon, and Minister of the Overseas Sébastien Lecornu.

Mediapart reported that the phone of at least one member of President Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic team too contained traces of Pegagus.

The investigative journal did not reveal which country spied on the said officials, but previously French newspaper Le Monde wrote that Moroccan intelligence used the software to spy on President Macron and his cabinet. Rabat has categorically denied the report.

Élysée Palace as well as the said ministers declined to comment on the issue.

On 17 July, outlets led by the Paris-based non-profit journalism group Forbidden Stories published a joint investigation which revealed that Pegasus software was used to target thousands of people around the world, including leaders of states, opposition politicians, journalists, and human rights activists.

Among the individuals targeted were Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, King of Morocco Mohammed VI, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iraqi President Barham Salih, and President of the European Council Charles Michel.

Overall, the spyware was reportedly used to target 50,000 phone numbers across the globe. NSO Group, which developed the software and is based in the Zionist entity, described the investigative report as full of “wrong assumptions” and “uncorroborated theories”.

Since the revelation there have been reports which seem to corroborate the joint investigation by 17 outlets. Earlier this month, it was reported that three US intelligence officers helped an Emirati cyber group spy on local human rights activist using various spyware programs, including Pegasus.