France has become the preferred target of the Kremlin’s propagandist media

Insults and provocations of all kinds against Emmanuel Macron, in Russia, the denigration campaign against France is intensifying. But behind these attacks, Vladimir Putin is targeting other targets.

Since Emmanuel Macron explained at the end of February that he would not rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine, the media, the military and Russian political figures have been firing on all cylinders. All in a quite chilling mix of genres. Dmitry Medvedev called the French president a “cog” two weeks ago. Miniature soldiers donated by the Russian National Guard to the French Embassy in Moscow, to minimize the power of the French army. But also the multiple times when the agitator of Russian television, Vladimir Soloviev, suggested to his guests that Russia send a few missiles to French territory. “I can’t decide: Paris, Marseille, Lyon perhaps, Lyon is a pretty city”he quips. “Macron is delivering a lot of tanks to the Ukrainians. We should send him a preventive strike to take part in the conflict”.

This smear campaign is not new, but in recent days, the statements have become more and more numerous and more and more angry. Like the vice-president of the Duma who combines homophobic remarks and calls for murder. Piotr Tolstoy considers that France is governed “partly by perverts”, an implicit reference to the homosexuality of the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal. In the same interview, Pyotr Tolstoy also warns that Russia will kill “all French soldiers who will go to Ukraine”. This Friday March 22, from Brussels, Emmanuel Macron is surprised by a “such lack of nerves” from Russia.

The Russian population and Ukraine in the crosshairs

We must not lose sight of the fact that in his warlike rhetoric, Vladimir Putin is also, and above all, addressing his population. And this escalation of words helps justify the Kremlin’s narrative about the decadence of the West. For example, the homophobic remarks of the vice-president of the Duma directly echo the condemnation this week for “extremism” of two LGBT bar owners. This is the first blow dealt by Russian justice since the Supreme Court qualified this community “criminal organization” in November 2023. This policy of discrimination is one of Vladimir Putin’s priorities for his third term.

But when a Russian military ship anchors in the Bay of Seine or Russia threatens to shoot down two French fighter planes, that’s another subject. These intimidation maneuvers have always been a specialty of the Russian army. By coming close to contact, Russia is suggesting that it is threatened, that it is “in a state of war” as the Kremlin spokesperson said on March 21. Insinuating that it may be necessary to consider increasing taxes to finance military spending and also consider a second mobilization. Here again, all of this is part of Vladimir Putin’s new priorities. In summary, France is a scarecrow, more than a real target for the Kremlin which knows full well that it is still far from having achieved its number one objective: Ukraine.