Russia bans four French figures in retaliation over Xenia Fedorova expulsion

Russia has barred four French figures from entering the country in a move Moscow says is retaliation for France's expulsion of pro-Kremlin commentator Xenia Fedorova. The ban covers two French MPs and two journalists, according to the Russian foreign ministry. The decision adds a new diplomatic flashpoint to already strained relations between Moscow and Paris.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the four were targeted because of their involvement in what she described as the harassment of Fedorova and their calls for her expulsion. The people named are MPs Sacha Houlie and Arthur Delaporte, and journalists Ariane Chemin and Paul Gogo. The announcement was made on Wednesday, and it follows France's own measures against Fedorova.

Fedorova, the former head of RT France, has been under an expulsion order and asset freeze in France since late July. She has also been under European Union sanctions since September. An EU document published in the bloc's Official Journal on 24 September said she had relayed messages aligned with those promoted by the Russian authorities and had spread them to a wide audience in France through appearances on several media outlets.

The case matters because it sits at the intersection of diplomacy, media freedom and sanctions policy. Fedorova has become a prominent figure in the wider information dispute between Russia and Western governments since the suspension of RT's broadcasting activities. The French response to her presence in the country, and Russia's retaliation against elected lawmakers and journalists, shows how the dispute has moved beyond media regulation into direct state-to-state confrontation.

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The French figures named by Moscow have each played different roles in the public debate around Fedorova. Delaporte, a Socialist MP, challenged the French interior minister in parliament last June over the renewal of her 10-year residence permit and called her a Kremlin propagandist. Houlie chaired the National Assembly's law committee from 2022 to 2024 and sits on the parliamentary intelligence delegation.

The inclusion of journalists in the Russian ban also underlines the sensitivity of the issue for both governments. What remains unclear is whether France will respond with further diplomatic or legal measures, and whether the travel ban will affect any planned parliamentary or media activity involving the four named figures. The immediate next step will be to see if either side broadens the dispute beyond these individual restrictions.

For now, the episode marks a fresh escalation in a long-running confrontation over sanctions, media influence and political messaging.

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