RT.com
19 Sep 2023, 08:13 GMT+10
Moscow has strongly protested against what it called a ?Russophobic? stunt at Emmanuel Macron's press conference
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador to Moscow, Pierre Levy, on Monday over the treatment of Russian journalists at President Emmanuel Macron's press conference at the G20 summit more than a week ago.
RIA Novosti correspondents and an editor-in-chief at the 'Russia-News' media outlet were denied access to the event in a "brutal manner," the ministry said in a statement, calling the actions of the French authorities "discriminatory and openly Russophobic."
Such actions "blatantly violate the principle of press freedom," the statement said, adding that the fact that the French authorities refused to apologize for the incident and sought to seize the Russian journalists' phones instead shows France's "determination to enforce a segregation regime against the Russian media."
Persecuting Russian journalists is nothing but one of the many efforts by French authorities to stifle any dissent, the ministry said. Through the French ambassador, Moscow has demanded Paris stop exerting pressure on any undesirable media. France should also stop discriminating against Russian media outlets and start treating them in the same open way Russia treats the French ones, it added.
The incident took place during a G20 summit held on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi, India. The Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, branded the actions of the French authorities a "wild manifestation of Nazism."
The EU banned all Russian 'state media' - from RT and Sputnik to public broadcaster VGTRK - and persuaded YouTube to enforce that ban globally when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began.
However, Macron had an arguably thorny relationship with the Russian media long before the current conflict, as Macron's campaign refused to accredit reporters from RT and Sputnik back in 2017. Since then, RT crews have received an array of bizarre explanations meant to justify barring them from attending government events. In January 2018, for instance, RT France was blocked from covering Macron's visit to Rome.
In October 2023, a French government spokesman acknowledged that the Elysee Palace intentionally barred the Russian media outlets from covering its events, as it considered them to be not "media, but propaganda."
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Scandinavia Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Scandinavia Times.
More InformationDUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland is gearing up for a challenging fight to secure a nitrates derogation for its farmers, avoiding the ...
As it did last year, the 2023 United Nations General Assembly has been debating what role the United Nations and ...
OTTAWA, Canada: During a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Canada's capital, Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ...
Robert Fico has a clear lead following the vote in Slovakia, but will need to find coalition partners to form ...
Over a third of Italians will be over 65 in 2050, ISTAT predictsMore than a third of the population of ...
Antony Blinken's knowledge of a pivotal Second World War event was called into question by social media commentersUsers of the ...
TALLAHASSEE, Florida: The Florida Lottery said this week that the second-largest lottery winner in U.S. history has come forward to ...
LONDON, UK: This week, the Global Financial Centers index showed that New York remains the world's leading financial center, with ...
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan: In a significant milestone for its defense capabilities, Taiwan has unveiled its first domestically developed submarine. Although it ...
HONIARA, Solomon Islands: Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare revealed that he opted out of a Pacific Islands leaders' summit at the ...
SACRAMENTO, California: Intending to raise some US$160 million per year to help prevent gun violence, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed ...
MANILA, The Philippines: The Philippines remains steadfast in its resolve not to yield to Chinese efforts to obstruct its fishermen ...