Kremlin launches propaganda campaign against France after Macron's statements on Ukraine

EU experts have observed a continuous disinformation campaign by Russian propagandists targeting France and its first family over the past weeks that followed President Emmanuel Macron's statements about the possibility of deployment of Western troops in Ukraine.

"The campaign targeting France proves that coveted Russian ‘traditional values’ are nothing other than a façade hiding an ugly reality of misogyny, hate speech, and brutal discrimination against minorities," Euvsdisinfo, run by the Strategic Communications Task Force of the EU External Action Service, reported.

In particular, Kremlin propagandists spread misogynistic attacks on French First Lady Brigitte Macron. Experts pointed out how pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets were busy providing airtime and a platform for the most ridiculous conspiracy theories about the French First Lady.

"One cannot help but think that Paris has touched a nerve with Russia, and with President Macron's statement that nothing can be ruled out in terms of military support for Ukraine, the Kremlin has launched a more aggressive campaign to undermine the French government," the propaganda researchers note.

The Russian media calls France an "imperialist, war-mongering, Nazi, and Russophobic" country.

In addition to attacking the first family, pro-Kremlin mouthpieces have been busy incorporating France into their old pattern. One recent example of such recycled disinformation narratives is that France is involved in the future division of Ukraine – along with Poland, of course.

EU experts also pointed to the spread of disinformation that France is allegedly recruiting soldiers on a massive scale online, which is obviously not true.

EUvsDisinfo is a project of the Strategic Communications Group of the European External Action Service, the EU's diplomatic arm. The project was launched in 2015 to analyse and respond to Russia's disinformation campaigns against the EU, individual EU member states and neighbours. 

Despite the controversy surrounding his remarks about the possible deployment of Western troops to Ukraine, Macron refused to back down, insisting that his statements were well-thought-out but also stressing that France would not follow the "logic of escalation" in its relations with Moscow.

Subsequently, commenting on the idea he raised, Macron stressed that if such a scenario were to materialise, French forces would not go on the offensive against Russia.