Vladimir Putin greeting former French PM François Fillon at his official residence near Moscow, March 21st 2013. © ALEXEY DRUZHININ / RIA-NOVOSTI / AFP

For years, Russia led a vast campaign to promote its standing and influence in western Europe, and particularly in France, where the Kremlin’s soft-power strategy had notably, and successfully, targeted political and business circles. In this interview with Mediapart, Marlène Laruelle, director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the George Washington University, details the history and reach of Russia’s drive to gain influence in France, and which was “destroyed in a matter of days, and for several years to come” following its invasion of Ukraine.

One of the ex-legionnaires, 'Maksim', third from left. © Capture d’écran Instagram

The Russian invasion has caused a stir inside the French Foreign Legion which has around 700 Ukrainians in its ranks. There have been media rumours of desertions by soldiers who want to go and fight in Ukraine, and the commanding officer has gone public with an appeal for troops to honour their oath to the Legion. Mediapart has meanwhile identified several former legionnaires who are already on the front line and has spoken to one there who claims there are 'a hundred' current and former legionnaire already in Ukraine. Sébastien Bourdon reports.

A voting card is stamped after a vote in the second round of the legislative elections at Carhaix-Plouguer in Brittany, June 19th 2022. © Photo Fred Tanneau / AFP

The outcome of France's legislative elections on Sunday shows the extent to which the country's political map has been redrawn in recent years. There are now three main blocs and groups of voters; Emmanuel Macron's centre-right, the Left and the far-right. But the composition of the new National Assembly, in which Macron's coalition has the single largest bloc of MPs but lacks an overall majority, raises as many questions as answers about the political future. Fabien Escalona assesses the uncertainties that lie ahead.

Vladimir Poutine on May 9th 2019 during a wreath-laying ceremony in Moscow. © Photo Yuri Kadobnov / AFP

The invasion of Ukraine is now forcing the world to face up to the unprecedented threat posed by Russian imperialism. In this op-ed article, Mediapart’s publishing editor Edwy Plenel argues that what is needed is a surge of international solidarity to defend and help the Ukrainian people who are resisting that aggression.

File photo of a giant broiler house (not part of Duc’s network) in Plougoulm, Brittany, in 2012. © Photo Fred Tanneau / AFP

After it was taken over by Dutch group Plukon in 2017, French poultry giant Duc began a massive development of its industrial production of chickens. This involved halting its production of organic and certified chickens, a major extension of its slaughterhouse at its HQ in northern Burgundy, and the future construction of 80 giant broiler houses in the neighbouring countryside. The expansion, which mirrors industrial poultry production practices elsewhere in France and Europe, has raised concerns locally over its environmental impact, and in a number of villages opponents speak of a climate of intimidation. Amélie Poinssot reports.

A demonstration in front of the Russian Embassy in Paris to protest against the Russian military operation in Ukraine. © Photo Antoine Mermet / Hans Lucas via AFP

For the Ukrainian community in France the news of Russia's invasion of their country sparked fears for families back home and concern over the spectre of a European war, while also prompting a desire to show solidarity. Four young Ukrainian and Russian woman from Toulouse, a city in south-west France which is twinned with Kyiv, told Mediapart of their reaction to the dramatic and tragic events of Thursday February 24th. Emmanuel Riondé reports.

Billionaires Xavier Niel and Bernard Arnault in Paris, April 9th 2018. © Photo : Eric Piermont / AFP

According to a study by environmental campaign group Greenpeace and Oxfam France, France's 63 billionaires alone have a carbon footprint that is equivalent to that of half the French population. This enormous disparity between the climatic impact of the mega-rich and ordinary households shows that it is impossible to have ecological transition in society without also having social justice, reports Mickaël Correia.

Left to right: an undated photo of Aloys Ntiwiragabo and on the run in France in February, 2020. © DR

Aloys Ntiwiragabo, the former head of Rwanda’s military intelligence under the country’s extremist Hutu regime, accused of being a ringleader in the 1994 genocide that is estimated to have exterminated up to one million mostly Tutsi people in the African state, continues to reside in France despite a request by Rwanda for his extradition and the rejection of his asylum application. The case of Ntiwiragabo, suspected of “crimes against humanity”, is a further demonstration of the unofficial haven that perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide have found in France. Theo Englebert reports.

Valérie Pécresse during her speech at the Zénith arena in Paris, February 13th 2022. © Francois Pauletto / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP

Valérie Pécresse, the presidential election candidate for the conservative Les Républicains party, on Sunday held what was billed as a key speech to re-boot her struggling campaign, dogged by defections, infighting, and the pull exerted on her electorate by the two far-right candidates with whom she lies neck-and-neck in opinion polls. Her speech, however, has only added to her woes, after it was slammed on Monday by party officials for borrowing far-right rhetoric, and dismissed by media commentators as a lacklustre performance. Ilyes Ramdani, who was at the meeting, reports.

Nicolas Sarkozy, Vincent Bolloré, Ramzi Khiroun and Stéphane Sitbon. © Photo Illustration Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

French police phone taps of billionaire businessman Vincent Bolloré during a judicial investigation into suspected corrupt practises in West Africa by his family-owned industrial group, now a media and publishing empire, show how, with the help of influential PR advisor Ramzi Khiroun, he was secretly informed of the contents of an unflattering profile of him by public broadcaster France 2. They also unveil how, as the corruption probe closed in, he received crisis management advice from former French president and friend Nicolas Sarkozy. The taps are among a series of revelations in ‘Media Crash’, a documentary co-produced by Mediapart exposing the inside story of the manipulation of the French press and broadcast media by a handful of self-serving, wealthy proprietors, to be released in theatres around France, beginning on February 16th. Yann Philippin and Valentine Oberti report.

Damien Abad at the first meeting of ministers in Élisabeth Borne's new government at the Élysée, May 23rd 2022. © Photo Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

The new minister for solidarity and the disabled has been accused of rape by two women, claims he has strongly denied. Now Mediapart has spoken to a third woman who says that he tried to rape her at a party at his home in Paris in 2010. Damien Abad, who was appointed to the new government under Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne on May 20th this year, did not directly respond to Mediapart's questions about these latest allegations but has “categorically” denied them in a statement. Meanwhile the issue has dogged the final days of the legislative election campaign ahead of the crucial second round of voting on Sunday June 19th. Marine Turchi and Ellen Salvi report.

Bamako, January 21st 2022. © FLORENT VERGNES / AFP

On Monday January 31st the military-civilian junta running Mali told France's ambassador to leave the country in a further escalation of the tension that has developed between the two nations in recent months. As Rémi Carayol observes, the next stage in the bitter war of words could be an announcement from Paris that France's military forces in the African country will be withdrawn.

Left to right, Aine Lesley Jr Davis, El Shafee Elsheikh, Mohamed Emwazi – 'Jihadi John' – and Alexanda Kotey, 'The Beatles' from Islamic State. © Photo montage Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

In the second of two articles based on interrogations by United States intelligence officials, Mediapart tells the story of the four notorious British jihadists who were to become known as 'The Beatles'. As Matthieu Suc reports, they were the first terrorists to represent to the wider world the true threat posed by Islamic State.

A police officer charges a supporter at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Saturday May 28th. © Photo Maryam El Hamouchi / AFP

The showcase event of European football, the final of the Champions League, was marred by numerous incidents at the Stade de France in the northern suburbs of Paris on Saturday night. Hundreds of Liverpool fans were 'kettled', blocked at the entrance to the stadium, and then tear or pepper gassed by police officers before the club's match with Real Madrid. As Ilyes Ramdani writes in this opinion article, this failure comes on the back of years spent by the French public authorities pursuing a repressive, incompetent and often violent approach to maintaining order at public events.

From left to right, Abu Lôqman, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, Oussama Atar and Jihadi John. © Photo montage Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

Two British jihadists currently in custody in the United States, who were part of a group of four Britons dubbed 'The Beatles', have told their American interrogators the identity of the Islamic State leaders who masterminded the capture and then release of French hostages in 2014 in exchange for ransoms. As Mediapart can reveal, these senior IS leaders were the same people who ordered the murderous attacks in Paris on November 13th 2015. Matthieu Suc reports.