French security chief sees new threats after Leipzig drone attack

By Tim Hepher

PARIS, Aug 26 (Reuters) - France is assessing the possibility of attacks against its essential companies and infrastructure after an apparent drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport earlier this month, the country's top domestic intelligence official said on Wednesday.

On August 4, an explosives-laden drone was discovered near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft used for military supplies at the German airport, a cargo and logistics hub used by NATO and Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.

"The discovery in Leipzig of an explosive drone that was by all appearances aimed at an aircraft supporting the Ukrainian army is a signal that we must consider the possibility of more direct, more violent actions on our territory," Celine Berthon, director of France's DGSI counter-intelligence agency, said.

Such threats most immediately concern France's defence and technology industries, but beyond that all strategic sectors including energy and communications, she told a business forum.

Berthon did not say who was suspected of plotting the attack but told business executives of a "meteoric" increase in so-called hybrid threats including cyber penetration and violence carried out by local proxies since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday the Berlin government would soon announce who was responsible for the attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport.

Moscow has denied any involvement in the incident.

In a rare public intervention, France's top domestic spy echoed Germany's interior minister in warning that their respective countries are under daily "hybrid warfare" attack.

Berthon told the annual forum organised by France's powerful business lobby Medef that this regularly included attempted interference with economic, scientific and institutional targets and could be used to weaken the smooth functioning of elections.

France is holding a presidential election next year.

DRONE READINESS WARNING

Security concerns have upstaged the informal end-of-summer gathering of France's business elite as companies debate how to protect their vital interests and adapt to a "war economy" demanded by President Emmanuel Macron.

The head of France's armed forces, General Fabien Mandon, reiterated warnings that France is falling behind potential adversaries in developing low-cost drones as well as the defences needed to cope with the effects of saturation.

"Dronisation is a reality ... Every night 800 to 1,000 drones leave Ukraine for Russia. The Russians have roughly equivalent production," Mandon said.

"We have a model for defence that performs extremely well against what we knew ... Now we have enemies that have developed cheap solutions in large quantities," he said, adding: "We are not there."

Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier said France's defence industry was ready to meet the challenge of re-arming.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)