France detains man suspected of spying on drone factory for Russia

France has arrested and charged a Belarus-born man on suspicion of espionage for Russia after he allegedly filmed sensitive drone manufacturing facilities, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

The 48-year-old suspect was detained on June 3 while recording a drone prototype belonging to a company supplying French and Ukrainian armed forces, according to prosecutors, Caliber.Az reports, citing French media.

He has since been charged with passing information to a foreign power, an offence carrying a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison, as well as criminal conspiracy.

French domestic intelligence services concluded that the man allegedly sent video footage to a contact in Russia, the prosecutor’s office added. The suspect resides in Spain.

Authorities said the surveillance targeted the Delair site near Toulouse in southwestern France, operated by Delair, a manufacturer of drones used in defence applications.

The investigation also noted that the same facility was hit the day before the arrest by an attempted arson attack involving Molotov cocktails, which failed to detonate. It is not yet clear whether the two incidents are connected, investigators said.