Three Bulgarian men are on trial in Paris this week for alleged involvement in spray-painting blood-red hands on the city's Holocaust Memorial, an act of vandalism that French intelligence services link to a campaign by Russia to destabilise France and other Western societies.

Some 500 red hands were painted last year on a wall honouring those who helped rescue Jews during World War II and around nearby Paris neighbourhoods. The graffiti was initially viewed in the context of the war in Gaza, which has led to a rise in antisemitic incidents and tensions around Europe.

But French intelligence services say the red hands were part of a long-term strategy by Russia to use paid proxies to divide public opinion, stoke social tensions and spread false information, according to court documents.

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