Russian propaganda campaign targets France and Brigitte Macron

In response to President Emmanuel Macron’s warnings about the potential deployment of Western forces in Ukraine, EU analysts have noticed a constant disinformation campaign by Russian propagandists targeting France and its first family over the last few weeks.

“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,” wrote EuvsDisinfo, run by the EU External Action Service’s Strategic Communications Task Force.

Kremlin propagandists specifically targeted French First Lady Brigitte Macron with misogynistic remarks. Experts noted that pro-Kremlin disinformation sites were actively airing and promoting the most absurd conspiracy theories concerning the French First Lady.

This anti-French campaign demonstrates that Russia’s infamous “traditional values” are little more than a façade that conceals the terrible reality of misogyny, hate speech, and severe discrimination against minorities. Except for this plot, we see how the Kremlin’s misinformation machine is being used to spread false accusations, as well as the March 22 attack on the “Crocus City Hall.”.

In Russian society, “ethno-nationalist, fascist iconography” limits women’s roles to symbols of childbearing. In this backdrop, Kremlin propagandists have started a misogynistic attack against France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron. Kremlin propagandists, in their perverted subculture, regard strong, independent women as a threat.

The French government agency “Viginum” recently identified “Pravda,” which spreads Russian misinformation, in its French translation, as part of a network distributing pro-Russian propaganda.

The study’s authors write, “One cannot help but think that Paris has touched a nerve with Russia, and with President Macron’s statement that nothing is out of the question in terms of military support for Ukraine, the Kremlin has launched a more aggressive campaign to undermine the French government.”

According to the Russian propaganda operation’s twisted narrative, Brigitte Macron is not a woman but rather a man. By disseminating widely refuted conspiracy theories like these, Kremlin propagandists are attempting to defame the French presidential family in a terrible display of intolerance for women and minority groups. Tsargrad, one of the Kremlin-funded propaganda outlets, refers to them as “perverts.”.

The Russian media describes France as an “imperialist, war-mongering, Nazi, and Russophobic” nation.

In addition to attacking the first family, pro-Kremlin mouthpieces have been busy incorporating falsehoods against France into their usual routine. One recent example of such reprocessed misinformation myths is France’s involvement in the invented future division of Ukraine, alongside Poland, of course.

In addition to earlier claims that France is at war with Russia, propagandists are now spreading misinformation that France is mass recruiting soldiers online, which is false. 

As always, the Kremlin propaganda campaign must label the victim as a “Nazi”; without this or any other hostile label, the denigration operation would be incomplete for Moscow. Many pro-Kremlin speakers casually mentioned Russophobia and anti-Semitism during their speeches on Russian propaganda TV, complaining about how Russia is not welcome at the Paris Olympics.

Despite the backlash over his comments regarding the prospective deployment of Western soldiers to Ukraine, Macron refused to back down, maintaining that his statements were well-thought-out while also emphasizing that France would not follow the “logic of escalation” in its dealings with Moscow.

In response to the proposal he made, Macron stated that if such a scenario occurred, the French military would not go on an offensive against Russia.

The Russian misinformation operation against France is a classic instance of how Moscow uses data manipulation techniques to advance its political goals. The Kremlin’s media network is disseminating propaganda narratives that aim to weaken both public unity in France and people’s trust in the country’s leaders.

Furthermore, Moscow’s goal is to weaken France’s international interests, its leadership in the EU, and its aid to Ukraine. Russia’s influence also aims to damage Paris’ position in French-speaking Africa.