“I want to remind you: I am a private person and I pursue my professional career as I see fit. If I want to sell rillettes in Red Square, I will sell rillettes in Red Square. François Fillon, Tuesday, May 2, before the National Assembly, did not recognize any dangerous relationship with the regime of Vladimir Putin. A line he has defended since a European Parliament report on foreign interference first implicated him in January 2022, a month before the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
The report mentioned that he was among the list of independent directors of Sibur, a Russian petrochemical giant. A group notably controlled by Leonid Mikhelson, one of Russia's richest oligarchs, and Gennady Timchenko, a close associate of Putin.
The former Prime Minister was already on the board of directors of Zaroubejneft, a Russian state company specializing in the development and exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits, particularly abroad. At the time, his decree of appointment was signed by Mikhail Michoustin, the president of the Russian government. Mandates he abandoned shortly after the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
At the time, the European deputies had not auditioned him. This time, in the National Assembly, François Fillon was able to have a public forum to put forward his point of view. Le Point had already questioned him on this subject. “I do indeed sit on the board of Zaroubejneft as an independent member, like Schröder at Rosneft or Strauss-Kahn at the Russian sovereign wealth fund. I do not consider Russia as a hostile power and the foreign policy of Europe seems to me irresponsible and dangerous for the future of the European continent, retorted François Fillon. Besides, if Russia were a hostile power, we would have to stop buying gas from her! »
His remarks date from before Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Tuesday, in front of the French deputies, François Fillon amended a little: "I was wrong on one point. I readily admit it. I was convinced that President Putin would not take action […]. When you think about this decision to invade Ukraine, it is terrible. It is terrible for everyone, but first of all it is terrible for Russia. It's a mistake, it's a fault that was committed by Russia, which will have very long-term consequences for her, for Ukraine, for Europe. »
François Fillon remembers having met President Poutine for the last time in 2018, on the sidelines of a congress on the automobile, when he had not been in office for many years. During their interview, François Fillon would have advised him to come out of his diplomatic isolation and to speak with President Macron.
The former Prime Minister has always campaigned for a reassessment of the French position vis-à-vis Moscow. Presidential candidate, he wanted to end the sanctions against Russia following the annexation of Crimea. "Europe is too dependent on the United States for its security and for its economy, he confided to Le Point in April 2015. This is blatant, for example, concerning the unacceptable application of American legislation to all transactions in dollars or the new cold war with Russia. “I also sit on the board of directors of American groups and, in that sense, it does not pose a problem, oddly,” he quipped in our dossier on foreign interference in Europe.
MEP Raphaël Gluskmann, president of the Inge Commission (foreign interference) of the European Parliament, did not really taste François Fillon's "rillettes". "It is not a question of 'selling rillettes on Red Square' or any 'activity', it is a question of putting oneself at the service of a foreign tyranny hostile to the principles and interests of the Republic French. Such levity shows that these people have understood nothing,” he tweeted after the hearing of the former Prime Minister.
It is not a question of "selling rillettes on the Red Square" or of any "activity", it is a question of putting oneself at the service of a foreign tyranny hostile to the principles and interests of the French Republic . Such levity shows that these people have understood nothing. https://t.co/ij1KcVB7D0
In the European Parliament's report on the interference of hostile powers, the name of François Fillon appeared alongside other former European officials and described a phenomenon identified by all counterintelligence services: the capture of European elites by two powers , Russia and China.
So much so that by mapping the "takes", a veritable spider's web emerges as high-ranking personalities are recruited. There are thus seven former Prime Ministers - France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Czech Republic - who work or have worked in the service of Russian or Chinese interests after their political career, a German Vice-Chancellor, five former Finance Ministers or the Economy - France, Bulgaria, Luxembourg -, two former Ministers of Foreign Affairs - Austria, Czech Republic -, a former Minister of Defense - Czech Republic - and a few other ministers of lesser rank...
Here too, François Fillon brings a caveat: "It would still be useful if we agreed to recognize that the fact of having been head of government for five years gives you some experience and not just an address book like I hear so often. Senior civil servants can also be seduced by beautiful retrainings, such as that of the former director of the Treasury, Bruno Bézard, now a "managing partner" within the Franco-Chinese investment fund Cathay Capital.
“A danger, is alarmed for his part Raphaël Glucksmann. A legal and insidious form of corruption. A fundamental subject in my opinion, which has not, however, caused much excitement in the European public debate so far. In fact, the Russians and the Chinese provide the golden retirement of dozens and dozens of policy makers from Europe…”
The subject naturally lends itself to controversy in the European Parliament, where some denounce an odious "witch hunt" which would prohibit, in the name of an ideological reading, the reconversion into civilian life of former European political leaders! Far-right politicians, often Russophiles, likewise protest against these "Moscow trials" and would like, conversely, that this listing be extended to European leaders who work for American interests.
American vassalization on the one hand, systematic destruction of the terms of a balanced democratic debate on the other, Europe has not yet found a solution in this global war of information and networks. And in the midst of this battlefield, the capture of Europe's elites is depicted as a soft weapon that is gaining momentum...
On the Chinese side, we seem to be primarily targeting leaders who can advance the new silk roads. And the Czech capital, Prague, appears to be a hub of his influence. Its recruitments are, as such, the most numerous. Starting with former Prime Minister Petr Necas, at the head of the executive between 2010 and 2013.
Now, he works as president of the New Silk Road Infrastructure Development
Outside Europe, countries have taken measures which the European Parliament would like to emulate. In Canada, Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries - as well as other members of the House of Commons and the Senate and senior public servants - are prohibited by law from engaging in paid lobbying of the federal government during five years after their departure.
Since then, another scandal has splattered the European Parliament: the supposed interference of Morocco and Qatar, and perhaps other countries, via former parliamentarians constituted as a fake NGO. The European Parliament is developing stricter transparency rules to combat this kind of phenomenon. The Commission must present proposals but the two initiatives seem very timid, because they come up against internal resistance. The regulation of this kind of subject bothers a lot of people.
Consult our file: War in Ukraine
