Former RT France editor-in-chief joins French right-wing channel CNews. There, she repeats Russian propaganda talking points.

Ksenia Fedorova, the former editor-in-chief of RT France, has joined the French right-wing conservative channel CNews, according to Politico and the Russian Service of RFI.

RT France ceased broadcasting in January 2023. Fedorova said at the time that the closure resulted from the channel’s accounts being frozen. A press release on the RT France website said the channel could not continue operating after European sanctions were imposed on its “shareholder and parent company” — the Russian non-profit organization TV-Novosti, which encompasses RT.

After the channel shut down, Fedorova remained in France and published a memoir there titled Bannie. Liberté d’expression sous condition (“Exiled. Freedom of Speech, Conditionally”). As early as 2023, she was in talks with the media group of billionaire Vincent Bolloré, according to Le Monde. That group encompasses the CNews television channel, the Europe 1 radio station, the newspaper Journal du Dimanche, and the publishing house Fayard — the same publisher that later released her book.

Fedorova now appears regularly on the group’s news programs to comment on international affairs and hosts her own weekly segment on CNews. She has also released a mini-series titled Svet pravoslaviya “The Light of Orthodoxy” about Orthodox churches in Europe.

“Fedorova consistently repeats the talking points of Russian state media. The main one is that ‘Russia wants peace,’ while the continuation of the war is the fault of Ukraine, Europe, the United States, and NATO,” RFI reported.

Fedorova also brought former RT France employees with her to CNews, Politico reported. One of them hosts a program on which she regularly appears.

Both outlets reported that Fedorova’s standing within the media group is strong enough that she has been able to get employees dismissed. In April, French General Bruno Clermont, who had been working at CNews as a military expert, said he was let go at Fedorova’s insistence after making critical comments about Russia in connection with events related to the war in the Middle East. His only offense, he wrote on his LinkedIn page, was having upset the Russian woman Ksenia Fedorova.

When Politico sought comment from Fedorova, she said the outlet would have to publish her words in full. Politico declined. CNews and Europe 1 also declined to comment.

Complaints have already been filed against Fedorova with France’s television regulator accusing her of promoting Kremlin ideas. As Politico noted, however, French authorities have little recourse, since there is no evidence that Fedorova is receiving money from Russian authorities.