France orders expulsion of Russian commentator Xenia Fedorova, citing threat to public order

The expulsion order

France notified Russian journalist and commentator Xenia Fedorova of an expulsion order on Wednesday 29 July, the interior ministry announced. The 45-year-old is the former director of the French branch of the Russian state channel RT, which was banned in France after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and closed in 2023. The ministerial decree, revealed by the newspaper Libération, states that her "conduct undermines the fundamental interests of the state" and that her presence on French territory "constitutes a particularly serious and current threat to public order."

By spreading her narratives, Xenia Fedorova acts as a spokesperson for disinformation campaigns orchestrated by Russian authorities.

Bolloré media platform

After RT France shut down, Fedorova pivoted to a prominent role in the media empire of conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré. She holds permanent contracts (CDI) with Canal+ and Lagardère, appearing regularly as a commentator on the 24-hour news channel CNews, Europe 1 radio, and writing a weekly column for Le Journal du Dimanche. Her autobiography, titled "Banned," was published last year by Bolloré's Fayard book imprint, part of the Lagardère group.

Fedorova casts herself as a free speech advocate, often relaying Russian talking points, including blaming Europe for provoking the war, referring to it as a "special operation," and accusing Baltic states of glorifying Nazism. The order states she contributes to "the dissemination of a discourse of disinformation and destabilisation" aimed at "manipulating public opinion" and "undermining the confidence of European citizens, and in particular French citizens, in their institutions."

Employers push back

Canal+ and Lagardère issued a joint statement on Wednesday denouncing the expulsion order as risking "a particularly serious attack on freedom of expression and the pluralism of opinions." The groups "give their full support to Xenia Fedorova in the face of this decision." Canal+ chief executives Maxime Saada and Gérald-Brice Viret had already defended her in a May op-ed in Le Journal du Dimanche, invoking freedom of expression and opinion pluralism.

Without it being necessary for everyone to share all the analyses or opinions expressed by Ms Fedorova, the Canal+ and Lagardère groups consider that preventing her from participating in public debate and expressing her views constitutes a particularly serious attack on freedom of expression.

Political reactions

Socialist MP Arthur Delaporte, who had called on the interior minister in early June to launch expulsion proceedings against Fedorova, welcomed the decision on X, hailing the end of "impunity for Kremlin agents who have a storefront on CNews." He told Libération that "the state has taken the measure of the threat that this type of person represents." Macronist MP Sacha Houlié, who had referred the case to the Paris prosecutor, also applauded the measure and called for it to be "applied without delay."

Fedorova was granted a ten-year residence permit in August 2024. Delaporte noted that "particularly complex relations with Russia" could complicate enforcement. Two options now exist: going to another state or being placed under house arrest, he said.

Election context

The decision comes less than a year before France's next presidential election, in which centrist President Emmanuel Macron cannot run again and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leads the polls. Disinformation experts have raised the alarm about the influence of the former RT journalist ahead of the vote. The decree describes her presence as "a particularly serious and current threat to public order" and accuses her of "acting as a conduit for disinformation campaigns directed by the Russian authorities."