Blocking 35 websites. The French regulator attacks Russian propaganda

French media regulator Arcom said on Thursday it had ordered the blocking of 35 Russian media websites, including TV and radio stations available through streaming platforms. The decision results from the sanctions adopted by the European Union.

The office announced that it had asked Internet providers and search engines to block access and remove Russian portals from search results. AFP reported, citing a source familiar with the matter, that the websites concerned were: sputniknews.lat, rtenfrancais.tv, news-front.su, southfront.press and strategic-culture.su.

Arcom also asked search engines to remove the websites of four streaming platforms that provide access to Russian broadcasters and TV channels covered by sanctions from search results.

These are the next steps of this kind taken by Arcom. In 2025, two Russian television stations were blocked in France: Channel 5 and STS, because the media group controlling these stations is subject to EU sanctions.

After February 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the French operator Eutelsat stopped broadcasting the main Russian TV channels, including: Rossiya 1 and First Kanal. It was then emphasized that the programs of these stations regarding the war in Ukraine contained incitement to hatred and violence and showed a lack of reliability in reporting. Arcom also ordered the interruption of RT France, the French-language propaganda channel of Russia's RT television station.

From Paris Anna Wróbel (PAP)

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