The French did it? The Kremlin playbook strikes again

The week before saw a new, yet familiar narrative circulate aimed at discrediting the democratic elections in Romania and stirring mistrust of European institutions. According to a recent disinformation narrative, France’s intelligence services somehow ‘rigged’ Romania’s elections to block hard-right presidential candidate George Simion, all under the watchful eye of a so-called ‘European mafia’.

The story, amplified by pro-Kremlin and fringe platforms, falsely claims that Telegram founder Pavel Durov exposed a plot by French secret services to censor Romanian opposition voices – and that this censorship handed a stolen election to the elites. The tale does not stop there. It uses the idea that ‘the people never decide anything’, an assertion designed to amplify cynicism, ethnic division, and institutional distrust.

Telegram post sparks rumours, not proof

However, here’s what actually happened. Durov did post a message claiming he had been approached by French intelligence officials asking that he ‘ban conservative voices in Romania’ on Telegram, a request he refused. But he provided no evidence, and he did not claim this was about ‘rigging’ the Romanian elections. The French government responded swiftly and unequivocally. The DGSE, France’s foreign intelligence agency, firmly denied the claim, stating that no requests had been made related to any electoral process. Instead, their past contact with Telegram, they clarified, had exclusively been about content tied to terrorism and child protection.

This entire episode is straight out of the Kremlin’s disinformation playbook. It uses classic techniques such as suggestive half-truths, namedropping high-profile individuals, blending real figures with fabricated motives, and sprinkling in xenophobic dog whistles to stir the pot. The ultimate goal? Undermine public trust in democratic elections, delegitimise EU institutions, and deepen political divides between European countries.

Truth twisted, trust targeted

The narrative about Simion’s ‘stolen victory’ fits neatly into a wider trend. Kremlin-aligned sources have previously claimed that the EU orchestrated Romania’s 2024 presidential election annulment and framed the prosecution of presidential candidate Calin Georgescu as Western-backed repression. Now, they’ve added France and Durov into the mix, hoping to lend a fresh coat of credibility to an old lie.

This is not journalism or whistleblowing. This is information warfare – designed to corrode democracy from within. The real threat comes not from European voters, but from those who peddle conspiracy and chaos in their name.

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Article and pictures first time published on the EUvsDisinfo web page. Prepared for publication by volunteers from the Res Publica - The Center for Civil Resistance.