PARIS — Telegram founder Pavel Durov has accused French foreign intelligence chief Nicolas Lerner of asking him to ban Romanian conservative voices from his platform ahead of Romania's highly contested presidential runoff election. Durov says he rejected the request, which he considers contrary to freedom of expression, while French authorities categorically deny any attempt at political interference.
In a post on X on Sunday evening, Durov said: "This spring, at the Salon des Batailles at the Hôtel de Crillon, Nicolas Lerner, the head of French intelligence, asked me to ban conservative voices in Romania in the run-up to the elections. I refused." He added that Telegram had never blocked protesters in Russia, Iran, or Belarus, and would not start doing so in Europe.
The General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) confirmed that it had met with Durov "on several occasions over the years," but only in the context of discussions on combating terrorist propaganda and child pornography. In a statement, the agency "vigorously refuted" any request to interfere in an electoral process, including in Romania.
This latest episode comes amid a tense climate in Europe, as Brussels institutions worry about the rise of populist and nationalist parties against a backdrop of the migration crisis, rising living costs, and the war in Ukraine. Conservative candidate George Simion, often compared to Donald Trump , was ultimately defeated on Sunday by the pro-European centrist Nicusor Dan, in an election seen as a test for EU unity.
The affair quickly attracted the attention of billionaire Elon Musk , owner of X, who relayed Durov's comments with a succinct but impactful: "Wow." Musk, regularly accused of supporting far-right political figures, is himself the subject of an investigation in France for allegations of algorithmic bias on his platform.
Pavel Durov, born in Russia and living in Dubai, is currently under judicial investigation in France for suspected organized crime related to the use of Telegram. Since then, he has been living under surveillance in a luxury Parisian hotel, the Crillon, where the controversial exchange with Lerner allegedly took place.
This latest clash between Durov and European authorities illustrates growing tensions over the role of major digital platforms in democratic processes, as accusations of censorship, manipulation, and interference mount ahead of the June European elections.
