ALBI, France: Allegations of fake news and hacking attempts dominated France’s tense presidential campaign Thursday, with just two days left for independent Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen to win over voters before Sunday’s high-stakes runoff.
Paris prosecutors launched a preliminary investigation Thursday into whether fake news is being used to influence the voting, as front-runner Macron and populist Le Pen rallied thousands at their last big campaign events — in opposite parts of the divided country.
There has been intense anxiety in France over the possibility that viral misinformation or hackers could influence the presidential vote, as in the US election last year. Those fears have largely failed to materialize.
Then Thursday, Macron’s campaign filed suit against an unknown source “X” after Le Pen suggested during their only one-on-one debate Wednesday night that the former banker could have an offshore account.
“I hope we won’t find out you have an offshore account in the Bahamas,” Le Pen said.
She appeared to be referring to two sets of apparent forgeries, published just hours before the televised showdown, that purported to show Macron was somehow involved with a Caribbean bank and a firm based on the island of Nevis.
Macron’s camp said the former investment banker was victim of a “cyber-misinformation campaign.” Speaking on France Inter radio, Macron blamed Le Pen for spreading “fake news” and said he never held a bank account “in any tax haven whatsoever.”
“All this is factually inaccurate,” Macron said.
In a subsequent twist, Le Pen’s campaign said a far-left hacker was arrested this week and confessed to repeatedly targeting its website. In a statement Thursday, the campaign gave few details about the seriousness of the interference, which could range from attempts at defacing the website to flooding it with bogus traffic.
Police referred questions to prosecutors, who wouldn’t comment.
Le Pen herself gave a fiery speech in a field in northern France Thursday, with an emotional appeal to desperate farmers, the jobless and the disillusioned.
Painting herself as the “voice of the people,” she said her rival would continue the painful status quo.
Thousands of supporters from far and wide climbed on hay bales and packed onto a field in the northern village of Ennemain to hear her speak, chanting “We love you Marine” and “Marine President!“
Le Pen said she represents “the widow of the farmer who killed himself because he couldn’t stand it anymore ... the company chief” who sees a public bid go to a foreign competitor, and the taxi driver who lost his job to “uberization.”
In each instance she targeted the suffering she wants to heal.
“Don’t let them steal the election,” she warned, summoning voters to join Sunday’s “rendez-vous with history.” The crowd went wild.
Gaelle Vincent, 35, wore a French flag in her hair to hear Le Pen speak.
“People think little villages like us vote National Front because we don’t like Arabs and are racist,” Vincent told The Associated Press. “We’re not racist. We have to preserve our land and our values.”
Macron, meanwhile, was on France’s southern edge in the Pyrenees town of Albi, visiting disgruntled workers Thursday at a glass factory before holding his last campaign rally in which he called on voters from the left and the right to choose his reformist, pro-European platform.
Macron arrived to booing and slogan-shouting from dozens of protesting workers. But after 15 minutes of talking, the 39-year-old front-runner managed to calm some of their anger.
Union leader Michel Parraud called Macron “very kind and very polite,” although he said he didn’t think the pro-business centrist would do much for factory workers.
Macron pledged to “give strength back to the country” and “build a more efficient and fair society,” speaking from an open-air stage in Albi’s central square.
Le Pen’s suggestion that Macron might have an offshore account cuts to the heart of her portrayal of him as an elitist former banker far removed from the people’s worries. She later backed away from the suggestion of an offshore account, but prosecutors launched a probe into suspicions of forgery and the spreading of false news in order to divert votes.
In the alleged documents spread online, the “M” in Macron’s purported signature didn’t match his genuine sign-off, and whoever wrote the documents appeared confused as to whether the firm was a limited company or a limited liability corporation.
Metadata embedded in the document suggest it was created just before being posted online — undermining the anonymous poster’s claim to have circulated the documents to “hundreds of French journalists” who had “all sat on this.”
There are hints tying the faked documents to far-right circles in California. One document purports to have been drawn up under the laws of Nevis but actually draws some of its language from a guide to forming limited liability companies in California. The documents first appeared on Mixtape, a relatively new northern California-based file sharing service.
The Macron campaign identified the first tweet referring to the documents as coming from the Twitter account of Nathan Damigo, a far-right activist and convicted felon based in northern California. Damigo is known on social media for punching a female anti-fascist in the face at a Berkeley protest.
In an exchange on Twitter, Damigo said he had nothing to do with the apparent forgery, saying he “just stumbled upon it and figured it would be interesting to share.”
He added: “I am glad it is now being talked about.”
Macron, meanwhile, got support from across the ocean.
In a message posted Thursday on Macron’s Twitter account, former US President Barack Obama said he was endorsing the centrist candidate “because of how important this election is.”
“I have admired the campaign that Emmanuel Macron has run. He has stood up for liberal values. He put forward the vision for the important role that France plays in Europe and around the world. And he has committed to a better future for French people.”
Obama ended his message with the words “En Marche” — which is the name of Macron’s political movement — and “Vive La France.”
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Ganley reported from Ennemain, France. Raphael Satter, Samuel Petrequin and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed.
Hacking arrest, fake news in tense French presidential race
Hacking arrest, fake news in tense French presidential race
Minneapolis businesses struggle during Trump’s immigration enforcement surge
At Taste of East African in Minneapolis, the manager and owner are the only employees who come to work now, serving new customers who aren’t familiar with the food but are trying to support a restaurant challenged by a federal immigration enforcement surge.
Like the employees, the usual patrons are afraid to come to a restaurant in an area heavily populated by immigrants that has been a frequent target of immigration arrests. Gig workers aren’t accepting orders for delivery because they, too, are afraid.
“Even if you tell ICE you’re a citizen they won’t listen, so everyone is scared,” said the restaurant’s manager, Hibaq Nimale, who is a US citizen raised in Kenya as a refugee from Somalia.
Businesses across large swaths of Minneapolis have taken a hit as President Donald Trump’s administration carries out a massive immigration operation that has spurred protests. As staff and customers stay home and protesters target businesses they see as aiding federal immigration enforcement, countless stores have temporarily closed, canceled events or reduced hours. Some hotels that housed federal immigration officers and saw protests have stopped accepting reservations altogether, while Minneapolis-based Target Corp. also has seen protests.
And the economic pressure shows no signs of abating as plans for a general strike planned on Friday to protest the immigration crackdown has gained momentum.
Adding to an already struggling economy
The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities cited devastating economic impacts in a lawsuit filed this month imploring a federal judge to halt the immigration operations. The lawsuit asserted that some businesses have reported sales drops up to 80 percent.
An October report from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve noted sluggish economic indicators even before over 2,000 federal immigration officers began arriving in Minneapolis and St. Paul. But a January report emphasized that some Minnesota businesses experienced dampened sales and slower foot traffic out of “fear of immigration enforcement.” Nearly 20 percent of all businesses surveyed reported lower employment head counts citing similar concerns.
“I’m seeing it impact everybody, just because of the lower levels of people traveling and spending discretionary income,” Adam Duininck, the CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District.
Even white collar businesses have been impacted, according to Fred Haberman, the co-founder and CEO of a small marketing firm in Minneapolis. His operations have been impacted because of significant disruptions to “support systems,” like schools and day care programs, that employees rely on to maintain regular work schedules, he said.
He worries that the city’s economic landscape could be permanently altered if the federal government doesn’t reverse course soon.
“Many of these businesses don’t have huge margins to play around with,” Haberman said.
In a statement, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pointed to the protests and what she called “the fact sanctuary policies won’t allow us to work with state and local law enforcement” when asked about the economic concerns.
Uncertainty for hotels
Massive hotel chains like Hilton have struggled to navigate the conflict. At least one location canceled reservations for federal immigration officers after frequent protests — only to reverse course after the DHS accused it of impeding law enforcement.
At least three Twin Cities hotels that protesters said housed immigration officers were not accepting reservations Wednesday. Rooms could not be booked online before early February at the Hilton DoubleTree and IHG InterContinental in downtown St. Paul and at the Hilton Canopy in Minneapolis.
Over the phone, an InterContinental hotel front desk employee said it was closing for the safety of the staff but would not elaborate. Signs in front of the DoubleTree and InterContinental said they were “temporarily closed for business until further notice.” The Canopy, which has been the site of noisy protests by anti-ICE demonstrators aimed at preventing federal officers from sleeping, was open but not accepting reservations.
Hilton and IHG did not respond to emails seeking comment.
Duininck said hotels are balancing economically prudent decisions with safety. He noted that many that remain open have reported fewer reservations and more cancelations than usual.
“What feels safe for me as a businessperson is different from people that are coming down here to go to the job,” Duininck said, noting that many employees in the hotel industry are non-white and fear profiling from federal agents. On the other hand, many hotel owners are trying to avoid intense economic retaliation from the federal government or protesters.
That impossible choice embodies “exactly what the political moment is for our city and for our country,” he said.
Economic leverage as protest strategy
Faith leaders, labor unions and activists are calling for residents of the Twin Cities to not work, shop or go to school on Friday “to demand immediate cessation of ICE actions,” according to the event’s website.
Boycotts and economic protests are a familiar tactic in the area.
Civil rights leaders in Minnesota were among some of the first nationally to call for a full boycott of Target Corp. last year after the retailer announced it would phase out a handful of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives following Trump’s push to dismantle DEI policies in the federal government and schools.
Last week, roughly 100 clergy protested at the entrance to Target’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters to demand the retailer take a stronger stand against federal law enforcement activity.
Videos have also shown demonstrators at Target locations in St. Paul carrying signs calling for the abolition of ICE and accusing the retailer of allowing federal law enforcement to stage operations on its properties.
Legal protections in businesses
Anyone — including immigration enforcement officers — can legally enter the public areas of a business. Those can include dining areas, parking lots, office lobbies and store aisles. In those places, immigration officials can question people, seize information and even make arrests, according to John Medeiros, who leads the corporate immigration practice at Minneapolis-based law firm Nilan Johnson Lewis.
But workers and patrons have some legal protections. They can decline to talk to immigration enforcement officers, refuse to consent to searches or ask for an attorney.
ICE needs permission from the employer or a judicial warrant to enter private spaces of a business, such as a back office or an emergency room. A judicial warrant must be signed by a judge and list a specific authorizing court. Those warrants can be limited to specific days or types of information about the business. Experts stress that it’s important to educate workers about their rights, what areas of the business are private and how to differentiate between warrants.
Immigration attorneys have raised alarm about ICE entering private spaces without proper warrants and detaining people unlawfully.
Medeiros encourages people to record encounters with federal agents.
Help from neighbors offers temporary reprieve
Nimale said Taste of East African’s economic challenges have been at least temporarily offset by an outpouring of support from her non-immigrant neighbors. Before the crackdown, she estimates that close to 80 percent of her customers were Somali. Now, it’s roughly 10 percent, with new customers who are otherwise unfamiliar with that regional cuisine filling in the gap despite the slower than usual service due to a lack of employees.
Nimale said she is grateful for her neighbors’ kindness but worries it’s far from a sustainable solution.
“We don’t know how long we can get support,” she said.
