Dismantling of YggTorrent: twelve people arrested by gendarmerie
Officers from the cyber unit dismantled one of the main illegal file-sharing sites in the French language, estimating damages at several tens of millions of euros.
Dismantling of YggTorrent: twelve people arrested by gendarmerie
The forces of the national cyber unit of the gendarmerie have successfully carried out an operation targeting YggTorrent, a leading platform for the illicit sharing of online content among French-speaking internet users. Twelve individuals were apprehended as part of this investigation, the military institution announced on its X account on 2 July 2026.
Launched in 2017, this portal operated as a directory of "torrents" providing access to more than one million works — feature films, television series and other productions — by circumventing legal distribution channels. The authorities estimate that rights holders suffered financial losses amounting to several tens of millions of euros. During the raids, investigators seized digital assets and computer equipment valued at €45,000.
This judicial intervention followed a previous blow to the platform several months earlier. In March, a hacker had emptied and destroyed the site's server infrastructure, motivated by his opposition to a paid option which he described as extortion. Despite this episode, the platform had continued to operate until this final seizure by law enforcement.
This case demonstrates the determination of bodies specialised in combating cybercrime to pursue sites facilitating the unauthorised distribution of cultural goods, which are a source of considerable losses for the creative industries.
Source: franceinfo
Source: France Info