French authorities have ordered the expulsion of Russian journalist and former RT France director Xenia Fedorova, accusing her of acting as a conduit for Kremlin disinformation and threatening France’s public order.
The French interior ministry confirmed today that Fedorova had been served with a ministerial expulsion order, confirming a report by the daily Libération. The order states that her “behaviour undermines the fundamental interests of the State” and that her continued presence in France constitutes “a particularly serious and current threat to public order”.
Authorities accuse the 45-year-old of spreading Russian state narratives through her appearances on French television and radio, alleging she contributed to efforts “to manipulate public opinion”, weaken confidence in French and European institutions and destabilise public order.
Fedorova, who headed the French branch of Russian state broadcaster RT France from 2017, has since become a regular commentator on conservative broadcaster CNews, Europe 1 and weekly magazine JDNews.
The European Union suspended the broadcasting activities of RT and Sputnik on March 2, 2022 under Council Regulation 2022/350, adopted days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. RT France announced its closure in January 2023 after its French bank accounts were frozen, and was subsequently liquidated.
She also presents Lumières orthodoxes, a programme on Orthodox churches broadcast by CNews and CStar, both part of the Canal+ group. In March 2025 she published Bannie, subtitled La Liberté d’expression sous condition, with the Bolloré-owned publisher Fayard.
Her lawyer, Emmanuel Piwnica, condemned the expulsion notice as a serious attack on press freedom and announced that she would immediately appeal the expulsion order.
He told Agence France-Presse: “Xenia Fedorova is a journalist. This decision is a serious attack on the freedom of expression of a journalist who has always practised her profession in the most proper manner possible.”
Fedorova is already barred from German territory, a source close to the case told Agence France-Presse.
The French Government has increasingly targeted Fedorova over her media appearances in recent months.
On May 29, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot described her as a “fully fledged propagandist” for the Kremlin, accusing broadcasters of helping spread Russian narratives by inviting her onto their programmes.
“Everyone is free to choose their editorial line, but giving this woman airtime and column inches is simply serving Vladimir Putin’s propaganda,” Barrot said on France Inter at the time.
The row followed an investigation published by Le Monde on May 26 that examined her influence within the media holdings of Vincent Bolloré, and a further report on June 1 questioning the ten-year residence permit she obtained in 2024 after RT France was wound up.
On May 13, Renew Europe president and French MEP Valérie Hayer called on France’s media regulator Arcom to investigate CNews and Europe 1 for repeatedly featuring Fedorova without prominently identifying her former role as head of RT France.
She claimed that allowing Fedorova to present views aligned with Moscow risked amplifying Kremlin narratives during wartime and could breach French broadcasting rules on accuracy and pluralism.
