By Diana George

Copyright timesnownews

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has made explosive claims alleging that French intelligence tried to pressure him into censoring voices in Moldova ahead of its presidential elections. In a detailed post on X, Durov said the request, made through an intermediary, was “unacceptable on several levels.” “About a year ago, while I was stuck in Paris, the French intelligence services reached out to me through an intermediary, asking me to help the Moldovan government censor certain Telegram channels ahead of the presidential elections in Moldova,” Durov wrote. “After reviewing the channels flagged by French (and Moldovan) authorities, we identified a few that clearly violated our rules and removed them. The intermediary then informed me that, in exchange for this cooperation, French intelligence would ‘say good things’ about me to the judge who had ordered my arrest in August last year.” Durov added that the second set of channels flagged by authorities were legitimate and fully compliant with Telegram rules, and were targeted only because they “voiced political positions disliked by the French and Moldovan governments.” He concluded, “We refused to act on this request. Telegram is committed to freedom of speech and will not remove content for political reasons. I will continue to expose every attempt to pressure Telegram into censoring our platform. Stay tuned.” The claims have drawn swift rebuttal from the French government. The French foreign ministry posted on X: “After Romania, Moldova. @durov likes making accusations while elections are ongoing,” referencing Durov’s earlier allegations about France allegedly trying to manipulate politics in Romania. Durov’s accusations come amid heightened attention on Moldova’s June 28 parliamentary election, which could influence the country’s ambitions to join the European Union. The elections were held while pro-Russian opposition groups reportedly sought to steer Moldova away from closer ties with the bloc. This is not Durov’s first clash with French authorities. In May 2025, he claimed that the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency had sought to block Romanian conservative voices ahead of elections there – a request that France’s DGSE denied. Durov has been under judicial supervision in France since his arrest at a French airport in August 2024, while investigations continue into alleged organised crime activities linked to Telegram.