France rejects Telegram CEO's accusations of Romanian election interference

French officials have dismissed claims by Telegram founder Pavel Durov alleging state interference in Romania's presidential election.

“France categorically rejects these allegations and calls on everyone to exercise responsibility and respect for Romanian democracy,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Earlier last week, Durov — the Russian-born founder and owner of the Telegram messaging app — claimed that Nicolas Lerner, the head of French intelligence, had asked him to ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of the elections.

“I refused. We didn’t block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won’t start doing it in Europe,” Durov said.

In December, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the presidential election after declassified intelligence revealed Russian interference, including a sophisticated guerrilla campaign on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Romania’s pro-European Union presidential candidate Nicușor Dan won Sunday’s runoff election, defeating far-right opponent George Simion.

The French Foreign Ministry said Durov’s accusations were “merely a diversionary maneuver from the real threats of interference targeting Romania,” referring to the earlier reports of Russian meddling. “Lying about France, insulting it, is breaking this history,” the statement said..

Durov’s claims triggered a surge of disinformation online, according to investigative journalist Christo Grozev.

“A flurry of fake news and AI forgeries flooded the web, falsely accusing France of interfering with today's elections and even invading Romania,” Grozev said.

Durov was arrested in France earlier in August and charged with several violations related to cyber and financial crimes committed via Telegram. He remained in the country during the investigation before returning to Dubai in mid-March.

Telegram moved its headquarters to Dubai in 2017, where Durov has also been residing. He became a citizen of the United Arab Emirates in 2021, around the same time he was naturalized as a French citizen.