France Orders RT France’s Former Chief Out, Calling Kremlin Propaganda a Security Threat

The French Ministry of the Interior has issued an administrative expulsion order against pro-Russian commentator on French TV and former RT France  chief Xenia Fedorova, Le Monde reported on July 29.

Her residence permit was revoked over allegations of spreading Kremlin-directed disinformation.

The order, initially reported by Libération and confirmed by Le Monde, highlights national security concerns stemming from Fedorova’s media appearances across French networks. According to official documents, authorities determined that her conduct “undermines the fundamental interests of the State.”

Authorities concluded that her continued presence in France “constitutes for this reason a particularly serious and current threat to public order”.

The French Interior Ministry’s expulsion order follows months of scrutiny over how former RT France chief Xenia Fedorova was originally granted a ten-year French residence permit in 2024 through an “automatic” administrative procedure despite her history of spreading Kremlin propaganda.

The ministry further stated that by propagating Moscow’s narratives, Fedorova acts “as a relay for disinformation campaigns directed by Russian authorities” aimed at destabilizing public order and “eroding the trust of European citizens, and particularly French citizens, in their institutions”.

In response to the decree, officials from the Interior Ministry clarified the immediate legal consequences for the former broadcaster. “It is a sovereign decision that de facto revokes her residence permit and prohibits her from working,” an entourage from the Ministry of the Interior informed Le Monde.

Moving to contest the action, Fedorova’s defense team confirmed plans to challenge the government’s order in court. Her attorney, Emmanuel Piwnica, told AFP that Fedorova will “immediately file an appeal,” describing the government’s move as a “serious violation of freedom of expression for a journalist who has always carried out her activity in the most appropriate manner possible”.

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Fedorova, who headed Kremlin-funded network RT France until the channel was banned across the European Union following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, has remained an active commentator in French media. According to Le Monde, she regularly defends Moscow’s foreign policy on platforms owned by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, including television channel CNews, radio network Europe 1, and weekly publication Le JDNews.

The administrative action follows growing pressure from French officials and European Parliament lawmakers from the centrist Renew group, who previously labeled Fedorova a “notorious Russian propagandist” and urged the EU to impose individual sanctions, Le Monde reported.

The Court of Justice of the European Union had previously ruled that the EU ban on distributing RT content applies to all websites regardless of commercial intent, reinforcing broader European legal efforts to curb Russian state propaganda.

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