France’s Macron defends giving citizenship to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
French leader denies inviting tech founder to France or having prior knowledge of his visit.
French President Emmanuel Macron has defended the decision to expedite citizenship for Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who is currently facing criminal charges.
During a press conference in Serbia, Macron stated that offering citizenship to high-profile individuals who make an effort to learn French and contribute positively to France is “beneficial for our country.”
“It’s part of our strategy to grant French nationality to those who, whether they are artists, athletes, or entrepreneurs, make the effort to learn French and contribute through their wealth and innovation,” Macron explained.
Macron added that he was unaware of Durov’s visit to France before his arrest on Saturday, which followed a report by Le Canard Enchaine that Durov had informed police of plans to meet the French president.
“I was completely unaware of Mr. Durov’s arrival in France,” Macron said, characterizing Durov’s arrest as “an independent act of French justice.”
“It is untrue that I extended any invitation to him.”
“We are a country with a separation of powers,” Macron emphasized.
French prosecutors have charged Durov with “complicity” in criminal activities conducted via the Telegram app, including drug trafficking and distributing child sex abuse material. They also accuse Durov, a Russian-born billionaire, of failing to provide documents required for law enforcement investigations.
Durov’s lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, has dismissed the accusations as “completely absurd,” asserting that implicating a social network owner in such crimes is unjustified.
The arrest has reignited debates about freedom of speech, privacy, and the regulation of online conduct. High-profile tech figures and advocates for internet freedom, such as X owner Elon Musk, whistleblower Edward Snowden, and ProtonMail founder Andy Yen, have criticized French authorities, viewing the case as a threat to free expression.
Russia has also expressed concern, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urging French authorities not to turn the case into a “political persecution.”
