The story: French media have alleged that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has conducted an influence campaign in France geared to slander its rivals. Among the reported targets is Qatar, which has separately also been accused of influencing the European Parliament. The reporting on Gulf Arab influence operations spilling into Europe comes as UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan (TbZ) has paid an official visit to Doha. 

The coverage: French investigative journal Mediapart published an exposé on Mar. 1 that detailed an alleged Emirati influence campaign in France. 

• The report claims that UAE intelligence services orchestrated an “information manipulation campaign” through Swiss-based economic intelligence company Alp Services.
  
  
• According to documents and testimony obtained by Mediapart, Alp Services was directly tasked by Abu Dhabi to investigate “Qatar’s network of influence” as well as...