France has ordered Russian commentator Xenia Fedorova to leave the country, accusing her of spreading Kremlin propaganda through French television and radio, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.
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Fedorova, who works for the media group of a conservative billionaire, has been placed under house arrest after being notified of the expulsion order, according to a source familiar with the case.
She is required to report daily to a police station.
According to the French Interior Ministry, Fedorova’s activities “undermine the fundamental interests of the state” and her presence in France “constitutes a particularly serious and current threat to public order.”
Disinformation experts have warned about the influence of Fedorova, a former journalist for Russia’s state-run broadcaster RT, ahead of France’s presidential election next year.
Her employer said it was shocked by the expulsion order, calling it “a particularly serious infringement of freedom of expression”.
Fedorova, the former head of RT France, which was banned after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, is now a commentator for media outlets owned by French billionaire Vincent Bolloré. French newspaper Le Monde has described her as a “protégé” of Bolloré
Fedorova is a regular commentator on CNews and Europe 1 and writes for Le Journal du Dimanche, where critics accuse her of echoing Kremlin narratives on Ukraine and the West.
According to French newspaper Libération, the expulsion order accuses Fedorova of acting “as a conduit for disinformation campaigns orchestrated by the Russian authorities” aimed at “destabilizing public order” in France.
The order accused Fedorova of contributing to the dissemination of disinformation aimed at “manipulating public opinion” and “undermining the confidence of European citizens, and particularly French citizens, in their institutions”.