Russia condemns France's decision to deport Russian journalist as unacceptable

Russia's Foreign Ministry has condemned France's decision to deport high-profile Russian media personality Xenia Fedorova, calling it "unacceptable" and an example of France's "moral cowardice".

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday ​called a decision by ​France to deport high-profile Russian ‌media personality ​Xenia Fedorova unacceptable. The French Interior Ministry said last month it had issued a deportation ‌order for Fedorova, the former chief of RT France who has become a prominent figure on the rolling news channel CNews and associated outlets ‌Europe 1 and JDNews ahead of a French presidential election ‌next year.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has accused Fedorova of being an "agent of influence" at a time when Russia is prosecuting its war in Ukraine, while Interior ⁠Minister Laurent ​Nunez accused her ⁠of spreading Russian disinformation in an attempt to undermine France's "fundamental interests." Alexey Fadeev, a ⁠spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, said Fedorova's treatment reflected what he called France's moral ​cowardice: "We consider the persecution of journalists on trumped-up charges to ⁠be unacceptable and strongly condemn it."

Fadeev added: "The expulsion of Ksenia Fedorova, as an ⁠act of ​reprisal against a rebellious journalist, came as no surprise to us, as we have long been observing the actions of ⁠the French leadership, which obsessively attributes a ‘Russian connection’ to every problem in the ⁠country." Fedorova, who ⁠has called the French move against her censorship, lost an appeal against her deportation on Monday after a ‌Paris court ‌rejected it.