Overview
- The European Union added Xenia Fedorova to its sanctions list on Thursday, imposing an EU‑wide asset freeze and a ban on travel inside the bloc in a move presented as a joint action with Germany and publicly welcomed by France’s foreign minister.
- The EU measure formally extends steps France took this summer, which included an expulsion order and a national asset freeze, and follows an earlier German ban on her residence.
- Officials say Fedorova, a former senior executive at RT France who appears on outlets including CNews, Europe 1 and JDNews, played an active role relaying pro‑Russian discourse linked to efforts to destabilise EU states during the war in Ukraine.
- French authorities have warned broadcasters that allowing her to appear by video would be treated as a circumvention of national restrictions and could expose media groups to criminal penalties, a signal aimed at platforms in Vincent Bolloré’s network.
- Moscow condemned the sanctions as persecution, and the EU move raises the prospect of legal challenges, sharper scrutiny of media platforms and wider debate in France about foreign influence and the regulation of broadcast commentary ahead of the 2027 election cycle.