Being investigated in France is “the new Legion d’honneur,” the Russian entrepreneur has said
France is weaponizing criminal prosecution in an attempt to suppress free speech, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has said, as he backed X owner Elon Musk in the social media platform’s legal case in the country.
Durov made the remarks on Sunday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice had rejected a French request for assistance in investigating X’s alleged role in distributing sexual deepfakes and unlawful data extraction.
The DOJ letter stated that the French probe sought “to use the criminal legal system in France to regulate a public square for the free expression of ideas” and “to entangle the United States in a politically charged criminal proceeding.”
Musk has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the probe as a “political attack.”
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Durov rallied behind the X owner, arguing that under President Emmanuel Macron, “France is losing legitimacy as it weaponizes criminal investigations to suppress free speech and privacy.”
He also disputed the independence of French prosecutors, saying they “are hired, fired, and promoted by the government.” He added that “the judicial police – who provide often misleading reports to investigative judges – are also controlled by the government.”
”Proud to stand alongside Elon Musk and others targeted by Macron’s campaign against digital rights. In Macron’s France, being investigated is the new Legion d’honneur.”
The French investigation into X was first launched in January 2025, following allegations that the platform’s content algorithm showed bias and could constitute foreign interference. The case has since expanded to include scrutiny of anti-Semitic content, Holocaust denial, and AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Paris prosecutors raided X’s French offices in February 2026, and recently summoned Musk for a “voluntary” interview.
Durov – a citizen of France, Russia, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis – has himself clashed with the French judicial system. He was arrested at a Paris airport in August 2024 and indicted on 12 charges, including alleged complicity in distributing child exploitation material and drug trafficking, after French prosecutors cited Telegram’s near-total failure to respond to legal requests.
Durov’s travel ban was fully lifted in November 2025, though the formal investigation continues. Durov has called the arrest and probe “legally and logically absurd” and said its “only outcome” had been “massive damage to France’s image as a free country.”
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