Overview
- Renew Europe MEPs led by Nathalie Loiseau sent a letter in early June 2026 asking EU institutions to consider sanctions and Renew president Valérie Hayer referred Fedorova’s broadcasts to Arcom for review.
- Arcom has opened examinations of multiple complaints about her on-air remarks and a deputy has referred the case to prosecutors seeking revocation of the ten-year residence permit renewed in 2024.
- President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot publicly described Fedorova as serving Russian state propaganda, increasing political pressure on regulators and courts.
- Fedorova is a former editor-in-chief of RT France, which was sanctioned by French regulators in 2018 and banned in the EU in 2022, and she has become a frequent commentator on Vincent Bolloré’s outlets where she repeats pro-Kremlin narratives.
- The dispute pits legal protections for free expression and media plurality against tools to counter foreign influence, with outcomes to be decided by Arcom, prosecutors and potentially EU bodies rather than by immediate executive action.