Telegram founder claims France has put a pressure on him to “silence” Romanian conservative voters in todays elections

Published May 18, 2025 | By NewsJive.com

In a message on X, Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, writes that he was pressured today by the French government to “silence” the activities of Romanian conservative voters on the platform during today’s critical election in the country. Durov states that he refuses to comply with this.

Pavel Durov posted the following cryptic message on X today, subtly pointing to France, using the symbol of a baguette:

“A Western European government (guess which 🥖) approached Telegram asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today’s presidential elections. I flatly refused. Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users or block their political channels.”

You can’t “defend democracy” by destroying democracy. You can’t “fight election interference” by interfering with elections. You either have freedom of speech and fair elections — or you don’t. And the Romanian people deserve both. 🇷🇴

— Pavel Durov (@durov) May 18, 2025

Durov also writes on X that “‘You can’t “defend democracy’ by destroying democracy. You can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections. You either have freedom of speech and fair elections — or you don’t. And the Romanian people deserve both.”

Romania is currently experiencing a highly tense and pivotal political moment. On May 18, 2025, the country is holding the second round of its presidential election, widely regarded as the most consequential since the fall of communism in 1989.

The candidates are between an EU and Western-friendly liberal candidate, Nicusor Dan, and a conservative candidate, George Simion, whose camp has been accused by the West of being influenced by Russian interests in the past, and where, among other things, the former candidate Călin Georgescu was declared invalid by the country’s court on unclear and undemocratic grounds according to critics, since he and the party want a better relationship with Russia and to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons.

George Simion is now the favorite to win, according to polls. Durov now claims that France is trying to pressure him and his platform Telegram to “silence” this candidate and his supporters in Romania, in order to secretly interfere in the election.

The outcome of the election is crucial for Romania’s future. A victory for Simion could lead to a foreign policy shift away from the EU and NATO, which is causing concern in European capitals. At the same time, the election has been marked by disinformation and suspicions of Russian influence, further heightening tensions.

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