In a tough blow right before Christmas, a suspected cyberattack has shut down parts of France’s main postal service and its banking side. This happened on Monday, December 22, 2025, when millions of people were rushing to send gifts and make payments for the holidays. The attack made online services go offline, causing big delays and problems for everyone.
The attack targeted La Poste, which is France’s national postal service. It also hit La Banque Postale, the banking part of La Poste. Experts think it was a DDoS attack, which means distributed denial of service. This kind of attack floods a system with too much traffic, making it crash and stop working. Because of this, people could not track their packages online or do transactions that need computer systems. For the bank, customers could not use the app to make payments or check things. As a quick fix, the bank started sending payment approvals through text messages instead.
La Poste is a huge company in France. It delivers about 2.6 billion packages every year and has more than 200,000 workers. During Christmas, post offices are always very busy with people sending cards, gifts, and other mail. This attack made things worse. Workers at post offices had to deal with angry customers who could not get their packages on time. Letters and holiday cards could still be sent and delivered the old way, without computers, but anything needing online access was stuck.
The timing could not be worse. Christmas is just three days away, and many people count on fast deliveries for last-minute gifts. Online shopping has made postal services even more important during the holidays. When systems go down like this, it can mess up plans for families and businesses. Millions of French people use La Poste and its bank, so the impact is wide. The good news is that customer data was not stolen or compromised in the attack, according to the company.
La Poste called it a “major network incident” and said their teams are working hard to fix it as soon as possible. The bank posted updates on social media to tell customers about the text message workaround. French prosecutors in Paris are looking into the case to find out what happened and who did it. So far, no group or person has said they did the attack. At one post office in southern Paris, some people guessed it might be linked to Russia, but officials have not said anything about who is behind it.
This is not the first cyber problem in France lately. Just last week, hackers hit the Interior Ministry and took sensitive files about police records. Also, prosecutors are checking a case where malware was put on a big passenger ferry. This software could let someone control the ship from far away. A crew member from Latvia is in jail, charged with working for some unknown foreign power. France and other countries in Europe that help Ukraine say Russia is using “hybrid warfare.” This means mixing cyberattacks with other sneaky ways to cause trouble. But it’s hard to prove who did it because hackers can hide their tracks.
From a tech side, this shows how important cybersecurity is for everyday services like mail and banking. DDoS attacks are common but can be stopped with good defenses. Companies like La Poste use computers for almost everything now, from tracking packages to handling money. When attacks happen, it reminds us how much we rely on the internet. Experts say governments and businesses need to spend more on protection, especially during busy times like holidays, when hackers might strike to cause the most chaos.
La Poste started as a government service, but now acts like a big company with banking too. Many people in France, especially in small towns, use postal banks because they are easy to reach. This attack hits hard on regular folks who might not have other options for banking or shipping.
As the holiday rush goes on, everyone hopes the systems come back soon. If not, it could mean more delays for Christmas deliveries and payments. French leaders might use this to push for stronger cyber laws in Europe. In the past, big attacks have led to new rules and better sharing of information between countries.
For now, people in France are told to go to post offices in person if they can, and use text messages for bank stuff. But with Christmas so close, this cyber mess adds extra stress to the season. Watch for updates as teams work to get things fixed and investigators hunt for clues about the attackers. This event highlights how cyber threats can disrupt real life in big ways.
