Cyberattack Defrosts Refrigerators at Hundreds of French Supermarkets

Refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets across France were disabled overnight between Sunday, October 11, and Monday, October 12, 2026, in what several affected retailers described as a large-scale cyberattack. The intrusion forced stores to discard spoiled fresh and frozen food after cooling units overheated instead of keeping products cold.

What happened

According to France24 and Euronews, the attackers remotely triggered a forced, continuous defrost cycle in refrigeration equipment. Hackread reported that the attack exploited control software made by Danish manufacturer Danfoss, abusing a defrost function normally used for roughly two hours a day to instead run without stopping, which pushed temperatures in affected units up to around 50 degrees Celsius over several hours.

Danfoss had not issued a public statement confirming the technical details or which software versions were affected, according to Hackread's reporting.

Who was affected

Intermarché was the chain hit hardest, with France24 and Euronews both citing figures of roughly 150 to 200 stores affected. Coopérative U reported close to 100 outlets affected. Carrefour confirmed to France24 that 80 of its supermarkets had been hit, while saying the vast majority of its roughly 6,000 stores were unaffected. Euronews reported that broadcaster BFM TV said E.Leclerc, France's largest supermarket chain, was also targeted, but that E.Leclerc did not immediately confirm this when contacted by AFP. Both France24 and Euronews also cited an unconfirmed report from a French retail-trade news website saying Carrefour Market and Monoprix outlets had been affected, which neither chain had confirmed at the time of reporting. Hackread additionally named Super U, E.Leclerc and Metro stores, as well as independent butchers and smaller businesses, among those affected.

Financial and food impact

Neither France24 nor Euronews reported firm financial loss figures at the time of their reporting, noting only that affected branches had to throw away all fresh and frozen products on hand. Hackread reported more specific figures from two stores in Haguenau: one Intermarché location lost an estimated €50,000 worth of frozen goods, while a nearby Super U discarded roughly €220,000 in products, for a combined confirmed loss of about €270,000 at those two sites alone. Hackread said total nationwide damage could reach several million euros once all affected stores are accounted for.

Intermarché told reporters, as cited by Euronews, that its insurance policies do not cover this type of incident in stores.

Company and official response

Schelcher's cooperative called the attack "unprecedented," according to both France24 and Euronews. Coopérative U said its teams were working with specialists to restore affected refrigeration installations, per Hackread's reporting.

The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed it has opened an investigation into what it described, per Euronews, as a large-scale cyberattack affecting the cold rooms of several major French food retail chains. The investigation covers identifying victims, assessing damage and foodstuff losses, and examining reports of fires linked to the incident, according to France24.

What is still unknown

No individual or group has been identified as responsible for the attack, and Hackread reported that it remained unclear whether the intrusion relied on exposed remote access, compromised credentials, or an unpatched vulnerability in the control software. Exact nationwide financial and food-waste totals had not been finalized by any source as of this report.

Separately, Hackread noted an unrelated cybersecurity incident affecting Ahold Delhaize-owned brands including Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall in the Netherlands and Belgium around the same period, which disrupted websites, apps, deliveries and loyalty systems, though it reported no connection to the French refrigeration attack.