Xenia Fedorova TV return may bring charges, France says

France's interior minister has warned that allowing Russian commentator Xenia Fedorova back on French television could lead to criminal proceedings after she was expelled from France.

Laurent Nunez wrote to France's ARCOM media regulator after conservative channel CNews indicated Fedorova would soon appear again by video link. In the letter, revealed by Le Monde and seen by AFP, Nunez said Fedorova had been accused of “manipulating information and public debate” and “infringing upon the fundamental interests of the nation”.

Nunez said any return to air would directly contravene expulsion and asset-freezing measures imposed on Fedorova and could give rise to several criminal charges.

Fedorova, 45, was formally expelled from France in August after losing an appeal against a court ruling that ordered her to leave for spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda. She is the former head of RT's French arm, which was banned in France after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Fedorova has called the accusations “censorship” and said she was outside France on holiday when the deportation order took effect, so she was never physically deported.