France orders expulsion of Russian journalist Xenia Fedorova and freezes her assets; she decries censorship

The expulsion order

On 28 July, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez signed an expulsion order against Xenia Fedorova, a 45-year-old Russian journalist and former director of the Kremlin-funded RT France. The order was served on her the following day, 29 July, and she was immediately placed under house arrest at her Paris apartment, required to report to the police daily. The decree states that her behaviour threatens the "fundamental interests of the state" and constitutes a "particularly serious and current threat to public order."

Asset freeze

On 31 July, the government published a decree freezing Fedorova's assets for six months, a measure the finance ministry said aims to "prevent further acts of interference." The freeze prohibits any third party from providing funds or economic resources to her or to entities she controls. The order can be renewed by a new decree.

Fedorova's response

Fedorova denounced the moves as "political pressure" and "censorship of opinions that do not align with the official narrative." In a social media post, she said she had lived in France for nearly a decade, paid taxes, and merely expressed her opinions as a journalist. Her lawyer, Emmanuel Piwnica, called the asset freeze a "manifestly illegal measure" that "confirms the relentless targeting of her," adding that it is "no better justified than her expulsion." Fedorova has announced she will challenge both decisions in court.

Government justification

Interior Minister Nuñez defended the expulsion order as "very well motivated," citing numerous statements by Fedorova that "systematically reproduce Kremlin propaganda" on France's role, the situation in Ukraine, and the reasons for the Russian invasion. He stressed that the order "is not an attack on freedom of expression." Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had already described her in May as a "committed propagandist" promoting Vladimir Putin's agenda. The authorities accuse her of acting as a conduit for disinformation campaigns orchestrated by Russian authorities to destabilise public order and undermine confidence in French institutions.

Reactions

Fedorova's employers, Canal+ and Lagardère, issued a joint statement saying that preventing her from taking part in public debate "would constitute a particularly serious attack on freedom of expression and on the pluralism of opinions." The Financial Times reported they were "astonished" by the decision. Meanwhile, Bolloré's own news outlets, CNews, Europe 1, and the JDD, remained largely silent on the affair. On the political right, Thierry Mariani, an RN member of the European Parliament, accused the government of trying to silence "one of the rare dissenting voices in the French press," and Florian Philippot, president of Les Patriotes and a regular CNews guest, called the expulsion "total madness."

Background and controversy

Fedorova arrived in France in 2017 to launch RT France, which was banned across the EU in March 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After the channel went off the air in January 2023, she found a new platform in Vincent Bolloré's media empire, becoming a regular commentator on CNews, Europe 1, and JDNews. Her residence permit was renewed for ten years in 2024; Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez later said the renewal was a routine matter for foreigners legally resident for years, with no government intervention. The controversy erupted in late May 2026 when Le Monde revealed her growing influence over Bolloré and the permit renewal, prompting centrist MEPs to call for sanctions. A lunch hosted by the Bolloré-created Institut de l'espérance around the same time brought together about a hundred guests, including Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard and François Durvye, economic adviser to RN president Jordan Bardella. Fedorova is already barred from entering Germany, according to a source close to the case.