[Editorial] Meddling through

Emmanuel Macron has overstepped with Romania’s elections, eroding France’s remaining international credibility.

Every seasoned investigator knows that: a person-of-interest who spins long-winded justifications covering all angles during an interrogation, has already internalized the suspicion she is subject to. If the POI fires back with counteraccusations, her hands probably aren’t clean. An innocent person, by contrast, is often too confused to know where to start.

The French ministry of foreign affairs writes all the above to state that what Pavel Durov alleges is disinformation. It also reiterates that Macron sent (without Parliament’s approval) a large French military contingent to Romania 5 days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and was instrumental to Romania’s EU and Schengen membership. Does Romania needs a friend that make her pay for its helps by deciding who should run her?

Why would Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov fabricate claims? To retaliate against Emmanuel Macron’s underhanded move to have him detained on shaky grounds? Central to this issue is Macron’s heavy reliance on Telegram since 2015. The catch? Telegram isn’t secure and uses a client-server model where messages are deciphered on servers before being re-encrypted and sent to the recipient. Spot the issue?

[ Telegram ] Justice Passes Away

The French Foreign Ministry claims Romania’s first-round presidential election was rightfully and independently canceled. Hardly credible. Evidence points to the Biden administration, the European Commission, and key EU nations leaning on Romania’s top court to void the November 25, 2024, vote. Why? The outcome—nationalist Calin Georgescu’s strong lead—didn’t align with their preferences.

Pavel Durov has added new claims, pointing the finger at Nicolas Lerner, the current head of the French foreign intelligence agency DGSE. Lerner, a prefect¹ with no prior international or intelligence background before leading the DGSI, the domestic intelligence agency, is notably a classmate of Emmanuel Macron from their ENA² days.

Recall Ursula von der Leyen’s warnings to Italy about potential consequences if Giorgia Meloni was elected. Recall Thierry Breton’s remarks before Germany’s February legislative elections, suggesting the possibility of annulling elections in Germany or Romania if deemed necessary.