Russia did push a lot of propaganda and they probably still do, but France clamps down on it from time to time.
Members of the extreme right also follow each other online, so it’s not really possible to tell if a french translation of a replacement theory conspiracy meme was made by a Russian at the IRA, or by a genuine french incel.
Putin’s trolls also support the far right party of Le Pen and that party repays this support by voicing their support for Putin from time to time, similar to other extreme left/right parties in Europe. Getting Le Pen elected in France would be almost as big a coup for Putin as a re-election of Trump in the Usa: it would damage the eu, NATO, give Wagner free reign over the Sahel and stop french support for Ukraine. And unlike Trump, Le Pen is not an idiot, so she would be able to do a lot more damage in a lot less time. This all makes France a prime target for the Russian propaganda machine.
This specific idea seems to be a mix of climate change denialism (they want us to stop driving) mixed with COVID time authoritarian scares (forced internment, stay at home etc) and while we know Russia has helped push parts of these ideas before or pushed this after I think this one really did originally come direct from the right wing American billionaire owned think tanks.
This specific idea caught on for some reason but they’ve been chucking out variations on this crap for years
Russia did push a lot of propaganda and they probably still do, but France clamps down on it from time to time.
Members of the extreme right also follow each other online, so it’s not really possible to tell if a french translation of a replacement theory conspiracy meme was made by a Russian at the IRA, or by a genuine french incel.
Putin’s trolls also support the far right party of Le Pen and that party repays this support by voicing their support for Putin from time to time, similar to other extreme left/right parties in Europe. Getting Le Pen elected in France would be almost as big a coup for Putin as a re-election of Trump in the Usa: it would damage the eu, NATO, give Wagner free reign over the Sahel and stop french support for Ukraine. And unlike Trump, Le Pen is not an idiot, so she would be able to do a lot more damage in a lot less time. This all makes France a prime target for the Russian propaganda machine.
What France doesn’t have (yet), is a popular domestic far right media empire. There is a conservative family building up a similar misinformation empire as that of Murdoch, but they’re only getting started, so it’s nothing like in the UK or USA (yet): https://www.france24.com/en/france/20230711-france-s-murdoch-right-wing-media-swoop-threatens-pillar-of-french-democracy
This specific idea seems to be a mix of climate change denialism (they want us to stop driving) mixed with COVID time authoritarian scares (forced internment, stay at home etc) and while we know Russia has helped push parts of these ideas before or pushed this after I think this one really did originally come direct from the right wing American billionaire owned think tanks.
This specific idea caught on for some reason but they’ve been chucking out variations on this crap for years