France Expels Ex-RT Chief Xenia Fedorova: Europe’s Growing War on Kremlin Disinformation
Accompanied by a six-month asset freeze enacted by the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, the decision represents one of Paris’s most assertive measures against Russian foreign influence operations since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
France has ordered the expulsion of Xenia Fedorova, the former head of Russia Today France, accusing the Russian journalist of spreading Kremlin propaganda on French television and radio, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
Since being notified of the ministerial order on Wednesday, Fedorova has been placed under house arrest and she is required to report daily to a police station, according to a source close to the case.
French newspaper Libération reported that the expulsion order accused her of acting "as a conduit for disinformation campaigns orchestrated by the Russian authorities" with the aim of "destabilising public order" in France and "undermining the trust of European citizens, and in particular French citizens, in their institutions".
Elsewhere in Europe, Fedorova is banned from entering Germany, a source close to the matter told French news agency AFP.
From Sanctioned State Broadcaster to Mainstream French Punditry
Xenia Fedorova served as the president and news director of RT France from 2017 until early 2023, when the outlet was forced into liquidation following European Union sanctions that froze its bank accounts. However, holding a 10-year French residence permit, Fedorova remained in the country and successfully transitioned into the private French media landscape. She established herself as a regular commentator across outlets belonging to conservative French billionaire Vincent Bolloré's media empire, including news network CNews, radio station Europe 1, and the weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.
Through these mainstream platforms, Fedorova delivered commentary that French officials and intelligence observers argued consistently echoed Moscow’s key narratives regarding the war in Ukraine, Western sanctions, and European politics. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot publicly criticized media outlets for providing her a platform, warning against giving airtime to figures who amplify Vladimir Putin's talking points. French authorities concluded that her activities extended far beyond individual journalistic commentary, functioning instead as a structured influence effort designed to sway French public opinion ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Defense Arguments from Fedorova and CNews
Both Fedorova and the media entities that hosted her, maintain that her appearances on French television and radio constituted legitimate opinion journalism, protected under democratic guarantees of free speech and freedom of the press.
"We are witnessing an entirely new form of political pressure with a single objective: the censorship of opinions that do not conform to the official narrative," said Federova in a post on X on Friday .
She's lawyer Emmanuel Piwnica has said his client will file an appeal.
In a joint statement, Canal+, owner of the CNews television channel, and Lagardère, which owns Europe 1 radio, defend Fedorova presence on air as part of a commitment to editorial pluralism. Representatives of the media group argue that inviting diverse, even controversial, commentators is essential to providing audiences with a broad spectrum of viewpoints. They reject claims of coordinating with foreign states, asserting that editorial independence was strictly preserved and that government interference in broadcast guest selection sets a dangerous precedent for censorship in democratic journalism.
The Pan-European Ban on RT and Moscow’s Evasion Tactics
To understand the broader context of Fedorova's situation, one must look at the evolution of RT in Europe. Launched in 2005 as a Russia-funded international channel, RT was initially promoted as a diplomacy tool. However, Europienintelligence services long identified it as a weapon of Kremlin "information warfare."
In May 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron speaking at a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris, said RT and Sputnik were "organs of influence and propaganda" and "behaved like structures of the government."
Macron's team alleged that Russian hacking and disinformation efforts aimed to derail his campaign.
Putin denied that Moscow meddled in France's presidential election.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Council enacted a comprehensive EU-wide ban on all RT broadcasting across satellite, cable, and online platforms. Despite these sanctions, Moscow adapted its tactics. Russian state media bypassed bans using mirror websites, Telegram channels, social media bot networks, and proxy voices. Rather than relying on official state channels, the strategy shifted toward embedding pro-Kremlin commentators directly into domestic Western media ecosystems—a phenomenon intelligence analysts describe as part of Russia’s broader "cognitive warfare."
Freedom of Expression versus National Security
The expulsion of Xenia Fedorova highlights the delicate balance European democracies must maintain between safeguarding press freedom and countering foreign hybrid threats. While her defense team and hosting media outlets argue that state intervention undermines democratic open debate, French authorities insist that state-sponsored influence campaigns designed to weaken national institutions cannot hide behind civil liberty protections.
As European countries prepare for upcoming electoral cycles amid ongoing hybrid warfare, the sanctioning and expulsion of Fedorova signal a clear shift in policy: Paris and its European allies are closing loopholes to ensure that foreign state influence cannot operate through domestic media channels unchallenged.