A complete assessment remains impossible to draw up. It is estimated, however, that today nearly 150 journalists no longer have authorization to come and work in Russia.
Two French journalists are no longer authorized to enter Russia. The Russian authorities are tightening the screws once again, this time against French citizens.
The stakes go beyond these two cases. Entry bans, expulsions and imprisonments are used by the Russian authorities to regain control of information, in Russia and beyond its borders.
The restriction does not target French reporters alone. Danish, Moldovan, British or American journalists have been banned from the country, expelled, or have not obtained the renewal of their visas.
Roskomnadzor manages the licenses of media outlets and journalists. It is this body that distinguishes those who are authorized to work in Russia from those who are not.
The ban affecting the two French journalists thus adds to an already broad set of restrictive measures targeting the foreign press.