France outraged by revocation of accreditation of Le Monde journalist in Russia
www.pravda.com.ua
Thu, 06 Feb 2025 17:53:16 +0200
The French Foreign Ministry has threatened consequences over Russias decision to revoke the accreditation of Le Monde correspondent Benjamin Qunelle in Moscow.
Source French Foreign Ministry spokesperson at a briefing on 6 February, as reported by European Pravda Details The French Foreign Ministry stressed that Le Monde, one of the leading French publications, will not have a correspondent in Moscow for the first time since 1957.
Quote This unreasonable and arbitrary decision by the Russian authorities is yet another obstacle to freedom of information at a time when the working conditions for independent Russian and foreign journalists in Russia are already extremely poor, and press freedom is not respected, it added.
Paris called on the Russian authorities to reconsider their decision, which will otherwise require an appropriate response without specifying what this might be.
Le Monde editorial director Jerome Fenolio, in a column published in French and Russian, called Moscows decision unprecedented.
He stressed that Russias explanation that Benjamin Qunelles accreditation was revoked because Paris refused to accredit propagandists from the Komsomolskaya Pravda media outlet is groundless, as they are not journalists but agents of the Russian secret services.
Background Since the beginning of the fullscale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has launched a campaign to suppress freedom of speech and imprisoned several Russian and foreign journalists.
In March 2023, Moscow detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich and then sentenced him to 16 years in prison on espionage charges that Washington called trumpedup.
The Wall Street Journal journalist was released in August 2024 as part of the largest prisoner exchange between the East and West since the fall of the Iron Curtain.
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