Before becoming French, the creator and CEO of the Telegram app, Pavel Durov, met President Emmanuel Macron on several occasions, according to information obtained by Le Monde. These meetings were even mentioned on the citizenship application filed by Durov, who obtained a French passport in 2021 through the "foreigner emeritus" procedure. This allows the government to grant citizenship to a foreigner who "contributes to the influence of France."
Durov was arrested upon arrival at Paris-Le Bourget airport on Saturday, August 24, as part of a wide-ranging investigation involving several police and gendarmerie departments. He is suspected of having allowed child pornography content and organized crime operations to flourish on Telegram, an app with minimal moderation, and of having refused to cooperate with French judicial requisitions. His custody is due to end late on August 28.
The arrest sent shockwaves both in Russia, where Telegram is hugely popular and users fear the app's security is now compromised; and in the United States, where entrepreneurs like Elon Musk denounced an "attack on freedom of speech."
A French citizen, Durov had been visiting the country very regularly without hindrance for years and even had the privilege of meeting the president on several occasions. Durov, who left Russia in 2014 amid conflict with the Kremlin, mainly resides in Dubai. According to IStories magazine, he has also visited Russia more than 50 times since leaving. He still holds a Russian passport, in addition to his Emirati and French ones.
The "foreigner emeritus" procedure from which Durov benefited is political by nature. Technically launched on the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in practice those wishing to benefit from it ask ministers or the president himself. Durov did ask the head of state whether he could benefit from naturalization at a luncheon in 2018, Macron's entourage confirmed. The existence of this lunch was revealed by the Wall Street Journal. According to the American paper, the possibility of setting up Telegram's headquarters in France was also raised during the meeting.
The president's entourage disputes the description "multiple meetings," referring to one or two encounters, with no further details on their dates or motives. Telegram did not respond to Le Monde's requests for comment – in 2023, when questioned on a similar subject, the company explained that it did not comment on the existence or nature of "private communications."
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