Putin Sees French Protests as Case for State Control

Vladimir Putin used protests in France to argue that governments should influence social media in the name of security, telling representatives of African countries visiting Moscow for the Russia-Africa summit that French authorities struggled to control foreign-owned platforms. He didn’t specify what form state influence should take. The pitch came from a government whose country scored four out of 100 in an internet freedom ranking, with researchers reporting systematic restrictions on major platforms and independent news outlets.

Hundreds of thousands of people had taken to the streets in France in recent weeks, protesting rising prices and declining living standards. Putin pointed to the platforms’ lack of French sovereignty as a problem. The people protesting those conditions, however, weren’t evidence of foreign orchestration: researchers found no evidence that foreign actors were behind the protests themselves.

Security, with no details

“The French leadership also points out that social media platforms that are not sovereign to France are influencing the events now taking place in major French cities,” Putin said. “They have difficulty influencing how social media operates in their country, or have no influence at all.” He added: “I think it would be right for all of us to have influence over this and think about security.”

That leaves the central question hanging: what does “influence” mean when governments claim authority over platforms and the people using them? Putin supplied no proposed mechanism. His argument instead set state control against platforms described as outside French sovereignty, while treating security as the reason governments should gain leverage over online speech.

Russia-linked disinformation networks had also been accused of exploiting the French protests. Researchers at Alliance4Europe identified a coordinated campaign connecting anger over living costs with France’s support for Ukraine. But they found no evidence that foreign actors were behind the protests themselves. The distinction matters: an effort to exploit public anger is not the same finding as creating the demonstrations.

The record behind the appeal

Cloudwards, a technology research company, gave Russia four out of 100 in its internet freedom ranking, placing it alongside Iran, China and Pakistan. Only North Korea ranked lower, with zero points. Researchers said Russian authorities systematically block or restrict YouTube, X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, as well as WhatsApp and Telegram and independent news outlets.

The same authorities have effectively banned opposition street protests at home, using restrictive assembly laws and lingering coronavirus measures to prevent or disperse demonstrations. Those facts sit beside Putin’s call for governments to have influence over social media. The public justification is security; the documented record includes restrictions on platforms, news outlets and street protest.

The Moscow Times, which published the report, said Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office had designated it an “undesirable” organization, criminalizing its work and putting staff at risk of prosecution. Authorities had earlier labelled the publication a “foreign agent.” The publication said the measures sought to silence independent journalism and that authorities claimed its work “discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership.” It said it aimed to provide accurate, unbiased reporting and appealed to readers for support, including monthly contributions starting at $2.

The article was translated with the help of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a Moscow Times editor. The outlet’s own account of the risks facing its staff is part of the story: governments arguing for greater influence over communication operate alongside restrictions on independent reporting. Putin’s remarks offered no boundaries on that influence. The protests in France, meanwhile, were about rising prices and declining living standards, and researchers found no evidence that foreign actors had started them.