France opens investigation into Russian involvement in protests against "yellow vest"

Illustration REUTERS

The French authorities are investigating a possible intervention of Russia during mass demonstrations of "yellow vests" covering many cities of the country.

Read also Macron will turn to the population through mass protests in France

According to Bloomberg, this was declared by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Diane

"Now" I will not make any comment until the investigation is over, "said the Legation, according to Lee Diane, according to him, the French intelligence services are monitoring the situation.

According to Bloomberg, referring to "Alliance for Peace" defense of democracy "- units of the Marshall Fund, which monitors pro-Russian accounts on social networks, about 600 pro-Kremlin accounts on Twitter have intensified in the context of demonstrations massive in France. #Yellowjackets, the French name of the protest movement, is called a "yellow vest".

Note that Twitter accounts tracked by the Alliance are generally devoted to American or British news. According to Bret Schafer, media analyst for the Alliance, protests in France have become one of their main themes in recent days. According to him, it's "a very strong indicator of the interest in exaggerating the conflict" for a foreign audience. As noted, the main theme of recent tweets is that French law enforcement forces are supposed to be ready to rebel. According to Shafer, this thesis, unsupported by facts, is similar to other Kremlin disinformation campaigns that sought to create mistrust of Western governments and to show that liberal democracies are in decline. Most of the documents republished on Twitter come from Russian propaganda sources such as Sputnik news, RT Ruptly.

Remember that protest actions due to rising fuel prices began in France on November 17, when some 280,000 people were released in the streets of the country. Protesters, besides rallies, blocked roads, petrol stations, fuel depots and shopping malls. Since then, stocks have not stopped and have peaked at the weekends. In two weeks, at least 800 protesters were arrested and dozens wounded. The day before, it was reported that 125,000 people had taken part in the action "yellow vests", 1385 were arrested during the riots

The SBU of Ukraine also said that the special services Russians organized unrest in France and provided for similar provocations in Belgium and Germany. , Spain, Bulgaria and other European countries

It should be noted that in recent years Russia has constantly tried to take control of Europe's drastic socio-political structures.

As reported, on December 8, a new wave of demonstrations swept France, "October's" jackets "order in the country provide 89 thousand law enforcement officers. In the streets of Paris were police cars and armored vehicles. Before the action began, the police arrested more than 300 people. During the action, two French activists and activists launched the flag of the terrorist organization "DNR".