France appears to have recognized the Russian threat since Moscow's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. To safeguard against risks of interference and espionage on French soil, Paris has rejected 1,200 visa and accreditation requests at French consulates in Russia since April 2022, Le Monde has learned. This "consular vigilance," as described by a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is the result of an "expanded security consultation procedure within the Schengen area."

The aim is also to prevent Moscow from rebuilding an intelligence network decimated by the expulsion of Russian agents operating under diplomatic cover. In the first half of 2022, France expelled 55 officials, notably after the Bucha massacre and the expulsion of Russia's delegation from the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. In the early 1980s, the former KGB had replaced 47 Soviet representatives expelled in 1983 for espionage within two years.

Every application for a Schengen visa, which allows travel within 25 Union European nations, is reviewed by all these countries, though requests can also be made for access to a single territory. Of the 1,200 rejected requests, 350 were specifically for France, according to a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Each country maintains full sovereignty in deciding whether to issue such documents.

You have 64.7% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.