Macron’s arrest of Durov: Russian observers claim US influence at play Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité principle under fire

The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov has become a major global topic, with significant reactions from various quarters. It seems that Paris, risking to make such a bold move, may have overestimated its capacity to handle the fallout.

American entrepreneur Elon Musk voiced support for Durov with the hashtag #FreePavel, expressing his views in French on social media. Silicon Valley figures also condemned the arrest. In France, President Macron's decision drew criticism from local politicians, including Florian Philippot of the Patriots party, who accused France of showcasing a tyrannical side.

In Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova and lawmakers criticized the West's double standards on freedom of speech. In a conversation with Caliber.Az, analysts are weighing in on France's motives and the potential objectives behind Macron’s controversial move.

According to Vasily Koltashov, a Russian political scientist and director of the Institute of New Society, Moscow is unlikely to react directly to Pavel Durov's arrest because he is a French citizen. 

“Durov avoided communicating with the Russian authorities under various pretexts and did not want to localize his business in Russia. From a security standpoint, this may have been the right strategy, but he was arrested as a French citizen. If Durov wants Moscow’s active support, he should publicly declare himself a Russian citizen and seek help from Russian authorities. This is fundamentally important,” Koltashov stated.

Koltashev also argues that France has not been making independent political decisions since Emmanuel Macron became president.

“France is acting on instructions from Washington. I don't believe Durov will be released or exchanged. His fate is likely to be grim because there are significant objectives at play—primarily, to suppress near-Russian businesses within American influence zones. The UAE, France, and other EU countries are part of this sphere, and no Telegram or Durov should operate their programs there. This is not the first arrest of this kind: I have just reposted in Telegram the revelations of a cryptocurrency specialist who talks about a whole series of arrests that have already been made on the orders of the US. Russian entrepreneurs should relocate to Russia or to neutral countries without extradition treaties. We are witnessing the beginning of a new world war, fought in a cold and predatory manner, with Telegram employees being hunted globally for years to come,” Koltashov emphasized.

Ruslan Aysin, a blogger and editor-in-chief of the "Poistine" portal, describes Pavel Durov’s detention as highly significant and unusual. He emphasizes that, according to legal experts, a person cannot be prosecuted merely for providing a platform for information and telecommunication activities.

“He cannot be held accountable, just like the mayor of a city who cannot be penalized in any way for having terrorists and bandits on the premises. He may not be re-elected by the local electorate, but there is no way he can be held criminally responsible for that. The fact is that Durov has created a unique product that has practically no analogues in the world, and this fact is very stressful for the leaders of the so-called ‘progressive’ world, and they want to force Durov to cooperate with their security services. It is quite obvious that all this is being done in order to seize control of a mega-structure like Telegram. I think big giants like Google, Facebook, Apple are involved in this arrest.”

Aysin also points out another sensitive issue: Durov's arrest occurred after his visit to Baku.

He suggests, “I think this was a certain trigger for Paris, which may have felt that Durov had made some kind of deal with Azerbaijan. Due to the well-known confrontation of relations between Paris and Baku, France's unfriendly policy towards Azerbaijan, this turn of events may have caused a fit of rage in Paris, which decided to punish Durov.”

Aysin added that it is quite clear that Durov himself, as a person and founder of Telegram, is a major institutional figure with the ability to indirectly influence many processes, so Paris will be happy to take cruel revenge on him.

"The most interesting thing is that Paris, which declares ‘​Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité’ is here violating all visible and invisible principles of free speech. I think Macron also went along with this because he is not in danger of political default. Of course, this event shocked the world. It's pretty much the same as detaining Ilon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, or Sergey Brin at the request of some party, thereby putting pressure on a company that has influence over audiences of millions. And such an escapade by Paris is a very bad signal,” he summarized.