Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has ruled: the deportation order against Xenia Fedorova does not constitute "an attack on freedom of expression." The minister spoke on Thursday to put an end to the controversy sparked by this administrative decision targeting the columnist, portrayed as the Kremlin's voice in the French media.
Xenia Fedorova is accused of acting as a relay for Russian propaganda on French territory, a qualification that her defenders contest by invoking freedom of the press and the right to express minority opinions.
Within the National Rally, the reaction is far from unanimous. Part of the movement approved the fight against foreign interference, while denouncing a double standard in the handling of votes deemed undesirable. Other elected officials and figures from the same camp, including Thierry Mariani, chose to directly condemn what they call political censorship, refusing to endorse an expulsion based, in their view, on beliefs rather than actions.
The case crystallizes a broader debate on the boundary between foreign interference and freedom of opinion, at a time when French authorities are increasing measures against influence networks linked to Moscow.
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