The French Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, has decided to expel from France the Russian journalist Xenia Fedorova, whom he accuses of spreading disinformation. Fedorova is a well-known pro-Kremlin columnist and was the director of Russia Today France (RT), a news channel banned in the European Union since 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Her lawyer, Emmanuel Piwnica, explained to the French newspaper "Le Figaro" that his client now has two months to file an appeal before the competent administrative court, which must rule on the legality of the measure within a "reasonable time frame."
The communicator, a regular on the television channel CNews and a defender of positions aligned with the Kremlin in various media linked to the French conservative magnate Vincent Bolloré, has been described by the authorities as a "serious threat" to public order due to her role in the spread of "disinformation and destabilizing rhetoric."
The expulsion order, issued for "attacking the fundamental interests of the State," involves the withdrawal of her residence permit and prevents her from engaging in any professional activity in France. President Emmanuel Macron had previously referred to her as a "propagandist."