France Blames Iran for Cyberattacks That Overheated Supermarket Fridges
France has blamed Iran for October cyberattacks that overheated fridges and freezers in about 700 supermarkets. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on November 10, 2026, that Paris is "not ruling anything out," including entry bans and asset freezes, and prosecutors are seeking international arrest warrants.
France blamed Iran on November 10, 2026, for October cyberattacks that overheated refrigerators and freezers in about 700 supermarkets, and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris is "not ruling anything out" in response. The government summoned Iran's ambassador that morning.
Paris says the attacks were carried out by Shahid Kaveh, a group it describes as affiliated with the cyber unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. The damage ran to tens of millions, from spoiled food and fires.
Barrot told radio station Franceinfo that France could impose "bans on entering European territory" and freeze the assets of anyone held responsible. He said the aim was to deter further malicious acts against the region.
What the attackers did
The hacks struck over the night of October 11 to 12. Remote access pushed temperatures in fridges and freezers up by as much as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
Retailers targeted included Intermarché, E. Leclerc, Carrefour, Monoprix and Coopérative U.
Paris chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement that the attackers went after refrigeration controllers supplied by Danfoss and Dixell. They took over the equipment through web interfaces and started unlimited defrost cycles. They also disabled the sensor alerts meant to trigger when temperatures pass a set limit.
Investigators found Farsi language in the attacks and IP addresses pointing to devices in Iran, the statement said. It added that the attacks were committed to serve a foreign power, which it identified as Iran. The Paris Prosecutor's Office is seeking international arrest warrants.
Sanctions and diplomatic response
On Monday, November 9, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said France would propose new European sanctions against Iranian entities and individuals involved. It condemned the attacks "in the strongest possible terms."
The ministry called the campaign "unprecedented in terms of its scale and level of aggressiveness." It described it as the first cyber offensive on French soil carried out purely for sabotage. It also said the actor "poses a persistent threat to our critical infrastructure."
France has pinned earlier cyber incidents on Iran-based actors. They include attacks and "information manipulation campaigns" against the newspaper Charlie Hebdo in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024. Those led to sanctions in March 2026 against the private Iranian company Emennet Pasargad.
Spread beyond France
Supermarket fridges elsewhere in Europe were targeted in November. Stores across Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, Ireland and Sweden reported losses.
French blood banks were also hit by cybersecurity attacks on November 2, the French Blood Establishment said. Temperature and defrost thresholds at cold storage units for blood products and samples bound for healthcare settings and biobanks were "set to excessively high levels," it said.
