The Russian Foreign Ministry called on France to stop obstructing the activities of Russian journalists

The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on the French authorities to stop obstructing the activities of Russian journalists. A statement to this effect was published on February 7 on the website of the ministry.

It noted that the French media are trying to convince the audience that the accreditation of the correspondent of the French newspaper Le Monde, Benjamin Kennel, has been revoked without grounds. However, the country has repeatedly hindered the activities of journalists from the Russian Federation, the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.

"The French authorities have long demonstrated their real attitude to these principles by engaging in systematic harassment against Russian journalists. Is it necessary to remind that in 2024 the Russian media were simply denied the opportunity to cover the Olympics in Paris?" - the report said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that the Russian side promptly informed the French Foreign Ministry that it would be forced to take retaliatory measures, adding that in Russia French journalists work freely, receive all necessary documents and access to information.

"If Paris is really interested in a fair and impartial approach to the work of the media, it should start with itself - stop obstructing the activities of Russian journalists and stop passing off its own provocations as some kind of principled position," the ministry concluded.

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Earlier in the day, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said that the country would review the right to accreditation for Russian journalists. The Ministry specified that representatives of the Russian media receive accreditation for one year.

On February 7, Izvestia correspondent Nikolai Ivanov and cameraman Georgy Bekauri were denied visas for filming a report on the French resistance to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in World War II. The refusal reported that "one or more EU states" considered them to pose "a threat to public order or internal security."

Commenting on this, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a statement that Paris was harassing Russian press workers. In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it discrimination of Russian media by Paris.

Vladimir Solovyov, chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists (SZhR), told Izvestia that Western countries now treat journalists from Russia terribly.

Later, French lawyer Philippe de Veulle, commenting on the situation, said that the French authorities are purposefully trying to hinder relations with Russia by relentlessly waging a campaign at all levels: political, military, and media.