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| cial Times, Nov. 25, 2015; Kim Willsher & Alec Luhn, Vladimir Putin Cancels Paris Visit Amid Syria Row The Guardian, Oct. 11, 2016. France Says Russia Sanctions to Remain in Place Associated Press, Mar. 9, 2017. Vivienne Walt, Why France’s Marine Le Penis Doubling Down on Russia Support TIME, Jan. 9, 2017. 690 Ibid.; Anne-Claude Martin, National Front’s Russian Loans Cause Uproar in European Parliament EURACTIV.fr, Dec. 5, 2014; Sanita Jemberga, et al, How Le Pen’s Party Brokered Russian Loans EUobserver, May 3, 2017. Le Pen Meets Putin Ahead of French Presidential Election France 24, Mar. 24, 2017. 692 Alina Polyakova et al., The Kremlin’s Trojan Horses, Atlantic Council, at 7-8 (Nov. 15, 2016). John Irish, Russia Not Interfering in French Elections, Says Candidate Fillon,’’ Reuters, Mar. 31, 2017. Association Dialogue Franco-Russe, Board, Vladimir Yakunin,’’ http:// dialoguefrancorusse.com/en/association-uk/board/557-vladimir-yakunin.html (visited Dec. 30, 2017); US. Department of the Treasury, Treasury Sanctions Russian Officials, Members Of that prompted Putin to cancel a planned official visit to Paris. 687 The French Foreign Ministry has also maintained that EU sanctions on the Russian Federation must remain in place until the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented. 688 Among Western European powers, however, broader French society provides relatively fertile ground for Russian influence. The country has along historical relationship with Russia, as evidenced by Franco-Russian ties that exist in political parties, universities, think tanks, and journalist circles. Pro-Kremlin sentiment has been demonstrated by actors across the French political spectrum, especially on the far right, far left, and center right. The Front National (FN), Marine Le Pen’s Eurosceptic and ultra-nationalist party, has staunchly defended Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria, calling for balanced relations between Russia and the Western powers, particularly against an Islamist ‘‘menace.’’ 689 FN publicly acknowledged it took a loan of nine million euros from the First Czech-Russian Bank in Moscow, reportedly owned by pro-Kremlin oligarchs, after French banks refused to loan money to the party because of its historically anti-Semitic and extremist positions. 690 In the month prior to the first round of the 2017 presidential election, Le Pen traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin and endorse the lifting of European sanctions on Russia, while Putin told the assembled press that Russia did not seek to influence the French poll but simply reserve the right to talk to all of the country’s political forces.’’ 691 Far-left and Communist parties in France have been sympathetic to the Russian government, based on skepticism toward Europe and a shared penchant for statism. 692 Meanwhile, some center- right elements in France have viewed Russia through the prism of business and industry interests—during the 2016 campaign, Republican party candidate Francois Fillon cautioned against a European hard line on sanctions and a military buildup along NATO’s eastern flank, and dismissed assertions by US. government officials of Russian meddling in the French poll as ‘‘fantasies.’’ 693 The Kremlin has also cultivated ties with French civil society and religious actors it can exploit to influence French policies in Russia’s favor. For example, Vladimir Yakunin, the former head of Russian Railways who is under US. sanctions, is the co-president of Association Dialogue Franco-Russe in Paris, which, in the wake of European sanctions on Russia, has advocated for normal ties between France and Russia to be promptly re-established. 694 The VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00128 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 123 The Russian Leadership’s Inner Circle, And An Entity For Involvement In The Situation In Ukraine Mar. 20, 2014; Association Dialogue Franco-Russe, The Franco-Russian Dialogue is in Favor of the Imminent Resumption of Normal Cooperation with Russia Mar. 29, 2016. 695 Natalya Kanevskaya, How The Kremlin Wields Its Soft Power In France Radio Free Eu- Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
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