Category France

DISINFO: Macron cancelled his visit as Kyiv was interested in killing him

A viral video purports to show a segment from a FRANCE 24 French-language news bulletin, in which the anchor claims that French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed his trip to Ukraine due to an assassination attempt intercepted by French secret services. However, this claim is false, and the video is a deepfake. Both the sound and headline of the original France24 broadcast have been changed.

Read MoreDISINFO: Macron cancelled his visit as Kyiv was interested in killing him

FRANCE 24 video edited to spread fake news about Ukraine’s Zelensky – Truth or Fake

An extract from FRANCE 24's sister French-language fact-checking show that's circulating on social media appears to support the claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has misappropriated funds to buy himself luxury yachts - an unfounded accusation that has repeatedly resurfaced. But the video has been edited: the journalist in it was in fact debunking, not affirming, the allegation.

Read MoreFRANCE 24 video edited to spread fake news about Ukraine’s Zelensky – Truth or Fake

DISINFO: Macron’s statement on sending EU troops to Ukraine is only prolonging Ukraine’s agony

Macron told a news conference after a meeting of European leaders in Paris on 26 February 2024: 'We should not exclude that there might be a need for security that then justifies some elements of deployment. But I've told you very clearly what France maintains as its position, which is a strategic ambiguity that I stand by.'

Macron did not say that it was likely to happen and added that France's attitude to it was ambiguous.

Read MoreDISINFO: Macron’s statement on sending EU troops to Ukraine is only prolonging Ukraine’s agony

DISINFO: Macron’s statements intended to drag France into war with Russia

On 26 February 2024, the French president Emmanuel Macron said "no option should be discarded" to bolster military support for Kyiv at a conference attended by leaders of Ukraine's allies, but recognized there was "no consensus". The aim of such a statement was to discourage Russia from further escalation of the invasion of Ukraine. France like many other states are assisting Ukraine in its self defence.

Read MoreDISINFO: Macron’s statements intended to drag France into war with Russia

DISINFO: Macron and Pashinyan secretly met about a military conspiration against Russia

The Armenian Prime Minister officially met with the French President on 22 February 2024, without secrecy. A joint declaration was made to the press. The purpose of the visit was the ceremony for the transfer of the remains of Missak and Mélinée Manouchian and their comrades of resistance against Nazism into the Panthéon.

Read MoreDISINFO: Macron and Pashinyan secretly met about a military conspiration against Russia

DISINFO: Pashinyan and Macron are plotting against Russia

On 21-22 February, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan was in France for a two-day working visit. The purpose of the visit was the ceremony of the transfer of remains of Missak & Mélinée Manouchian and their comrades in the French resistance against Nazism into the Pantheon.

Read MoreDISINFO: Pashinyan and Macron are plotting against Russia

Photos of French villa falsely tied to Ukrainian defense minister

Social media posts claim photos show a multimillion-dollar property recently purchased by the daughter of Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. This is false; the luxury villa in Cannes, France has been on the market since October 2021, according to a real estate firm and the owners of the house.

Read MorePhotos of French villa falsely tied to Ukrainian defense minister

Fake: Charlie Hebdo Ridicules Ukrainian Fencer Olha Kharlan

Russia's propaganda machine periodically disseminates fake French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo magazine covers, to buttress the disinformation narrative the Kremlin in currently pushing. Whatever Russian media and its acolytes claim, there is no Charlie Hebo cover dedicated to Ukrainian Fencer Olha Kharlan.

Read MoreFake: Charlie Hebdo Ridicules Ukrainian Fencer Olha Kharlan

Fake: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Icons To Be Auctioned in Paris

A French auction house representative told StopFake that a billboard
advertising the sale of Ukrainian icons from the Kyiv Monastery of the
Caves is fake, and no such an auction is planned. The Osenat website has no
auctions scheduled for October 1. Claims that the West is exporting and
selling Ukrainian artworks are Russian disinformation.

Read MoreFake: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Icons To Be Auctioned in Paris