French election hacked: The democratic process is increasingly vulnerable

It can only be a matter of time before British prime minster Theresa May accuses some dark European force of trying to influence the UK’s general election by hacking the Conservative party’s computers.

It would be, at this stage, disconcerting to be involved in an election campaign deemed so irrelevant that no-one bothered to try to influence it.

Already provoked by Jean Claude Juncker’s assertion that English is increasingly irrelevant in Europe the Brexiteers might feel even more unloved if no-one tried to influence their prospects of almost unfettered power.

The frontrunner in yesterday’s election in France, Emmanuel Macron, need not feel so unloved.

His team said a “massive” hack had dumped emails, documents, and campaign financing information online just before campaigning ended on Friday.

Outgoing president Francois Hollande has said every effort will be made to identify who was responsible.

It seems naive to expect that such interventions might not happen today but it shows how increasingly vulnerable the democratic process is in today’s ever-shrinking world.