PARIS, August 29. /TASS/. French officials are afraid of political consequences of Telegram messenger co-founder Pavel Durov’s case, Le Figaro said.
"Can it be that some agencies decided to be overzealous, though having strong reasons, while detaining Pavel Durov after his unexpected arrival in France? This cannot be ruled out and this causes argument in the administration where some are afraid of political consequences of the ‘Durov case,’" the newspaper’s Moscow correspondent Alain Barluet wrote.
He noted that Durov’s detention at Paris’ Le Bourget Airport late on August 24 has stirred up a "shockwave" across the globe. The consequences of this arrest "run counter to French President Emmanuel Macron’s words that this trial is not politically motivated," he noted. "The more so as this affair is unfolding amid the tug-of-war things between European authorities and internet giants led by Elon Musk who immediately came at the head of a FreePavel crusade."
Another political consequence, according to the French journalist, could be aggravation of tension between Moscow and Paris, especially amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and France’s continuing support for Kiev.
In this context, he recalled a number of statements by Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said that relations between Russia and France are currently at their lowest because of Paris’ position "on issues of freedom of speech, freedom of information and, generally, on issues of respect to the profession of journalists."
Durov, one of the world’s most influential tech icons, was detained at Paris’ Le Bourget Airport late on August 24. On Wednesday, a court in Paris charged him with six out of 12 offences named previously, the capital prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The charges include the refusal to cooperate with the authorities, complicity in dissemination of child pornography, complicity in drug trafficking and in a fraud, committed within an organized group. According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, he may face a prison term of up to ten years and a fine of 500,000 euro.
The judge in charge of Durov’s case placed him under judicial control with an obligation to post a bail of 5 million euros, to report to the police station twice a week and he is forbidden to leave the territory of France.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Durov's detention was not politically motivated. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that France’s stance on the issue shows that the values, including freedom of speech, that the country previously upheld are being destroyed, rather than ignored.