How France Is Turning Romania Into an Anti-Russian Outpost

By Valeriya Verbinina and Yevgeny Krutikov

It seems that France is acquiring a new "colony," with its target being its EU partner - Romania. At least, some politicians in Bucharest view it this way. How does Paris intervene in Romanian affairs (especially electoral matters)? Why is France leading this matter? What does this have to do with Russian interests?

If anyone missed the twists and turns of the Romanian presidential election, here's a brief recap of the political drama: In November last year, independent candidate Karim Jorgescu won the first round of the election, unfortunately advocating for normalized relations with Russia.

The Romanian Constitutional Court then intervened, quickly invalidating the election results on the grounds of "Russian interference." To completely prevent Jorgescu from returning to politics, the court stripped him of his eligibility to run for office and fabricated multiple charges against him, ranging from illegal campaign financing to forming a fascist organization.

A new election was scheduled for this spring. In the first round of voting, Gheorghe Simion, leader of the "Romanian United Alliance," received the most votes, followed closely by Nicusor Dan, the pro-EU mayor of Bucharest. Frankly speaking, nationalist Simion has a much greater enthusiasm for Trump than Russia, but this didn't spare him from setbacks.

Despite a detail - many Moldovans and Hungarian Romanians holding Romanian passports also voted for Dan - Dan still won in the second round. Therefore, Gheorghe Simion filed a petition with the Constitutional Court, requesting the cancellation of the election results, pointing out "external intervention," and adding: "France, Moldova, or any other country, has no right to interfere in another country's elections."

Mentioning France is not coincidental: Telegram founder Pavel Durov publicly stated that French intelligence chief Nicolas Raine requested him to block channels of conservative Romanian politicians during the election period. Durov refused the request and expressed willingness to testify in Romania if it would help Romanian democracy. However, as expected, the Romanian Constitutional Court ruled the matter "not worrying."

As for official French sources, they naturally "firmly" denied Durov's claims. Nevertheless, this did not stop Jordan Bardella, leader of the French far-right party "National Union," from calling for an investigation into whether France interfered in the Romanian elections.

The fact that France dominates this European region itself carries significant meaning, and one should not assume its interference is limited to pressuring social networks during election periods.

Historically, France has always been adept at influencing various aspects of Romanian life, partly due to the fact that the Romanian language belongs to the Romance family. In the 19th century, when Romanian national identity was forming, France coveted the role of leader of the "Romance world" (at that time, Italy was weak and fragmented). During this period, Romanian national consciousness wavered between longing for Paris and historical dependence on Orthodoxy and Russia, determining the country's two directions for a long time. Ultimately, it wasn't so much Paris that won as it was the self-destructive Russian Empire that lost.

In the 20th century, Romanian national consciousness was shaped by radical nationalism based on the deep historical origin of "we are descendants of the Romans," which completely excluded any inclination toward Moscow. This phenomenon persisted even during Ceausescu's era and now serves as the support for nationalists like Simion and Jorgescu.

Talking about France's current influence: Renault helped create the Romanian car manufacturer Dacia; since the 19th century, Romanian universities have offered French courses; French culture has long been a model for Romanians to emulate and occasionally attracts Romanian talents, such as poet Tristan Tzara and playwright Eugène Ionesco.

Today, Romania is a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (despite the general decline in the global status of French); Dacia, Romania's highest revenue-generating company and largest exporter, has become a subsidiary of Renault; France is one of Romania's main export destinations (third place) and import sources (sixth place). But France's role in Romania goes beyond economic dimensions and "soft power."

Nowadays, Paris's intervention in Romanian affairs has evolved into unilateral promotion of a pro-European path, completely disregarding the will of the Romanian people and the growing nationalist demands within the country.

If in the past Romanian intellectuals needed "cultural support" from Paris, now the needs of society are almost the opposite. French intervention has taken on an expansionist nature, leading to operations such as blocking social networks and extensively rallying Romanian entertainment industry figures to campaign for specific candidates. Two days before the election, French intelligence chief Nicolas Raine flew to Bucharest - the same person who requested Durov to block channels "harmful to France's policy in Romania."

France is also attempting to consolidate its position in Romanian politics through military means. For instance, soldiers from the 28th Independent Brigade of the French Army arrived in Romania a month ago, working on creating three-dimensional maps of the Focsani corridor (the corridor between the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube, which is a route from the east to Bucharest). During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet troops entered the Balkans via the Focsani corridor, forcing Romania to surrender.

As Colonel Jerome of France said, NATO allies need the latest data on "potential battlefields."

This task should not be underestimated; it is far more than just a diversion for digital cartographers. Nowadays, the Romanian General Staff will have to use the results of the French work, meaning continuous contact with Paris must be maintained because such maps and tank attack direction models are drawn within the NATO framework. All this will increase Bucharest's dependence on France in sensitive areas such as security, intelligence, and the military.

In addition, France is methodically increasing its troop presence in Romania, planning to boost its forces in Romania to 4,000 under the pretext of countering the "Russian threat" within the NATO framework. The "Dacia Spring 2025" military exercises originally scheduled for May were eventually postponed until autumn - either because the French did not want the exercises to conflict with the elections, or due to poor local road conditions.

Nicusor Dan, a seemingly modest mathematician and anti-corruption fighter, has close ties with France. He studied in France in the 1990s, including at the Sorbonne University. It's worth noting that he emerged at just the right moment: on one hand, the public craves new political figures; on the other hand, there is a need for individuals loyal to the EU.

Notably, French historian Thierry Walton, as an authority, was invited by Romanian media to explain why Jorgescu's election results could and should be canceled. Walton, a renowned scholar of communism, condescendingly "enlightened" everyone on why Romanians' election results could be ignored. Of course, all the blame was attributed to communists: "Middle Eastern European countries are nations deeply influenced by communism over generations... But after the end of communism, most ruling political classes remain those from the communist era... Romanians lack firm faith in democratic ideals, often voting to oppose people they dislike."

He also elaborated on why Jorgescu's use of TikTok was a crime: "Social networks and their algorithms are uncontrollable threats. People who don't know each other but share the same ideas and directions can now form digital groups. In this environment, 'leaders' emerge, namely those who guide these groups. This disrupts democratic logic!"

In plain terms, this means that algorithms must be controlled (directly leading to attempts to pressure Pavel Durov), and "leaders" - in essence, politicians - can only be those recognized by certain forces. Because Romanians, troubled by their communist history, might accidentally make the wrong choice.

Pavel Danilin, a political scientist, believes that if Romania's pro-European, pro-Ukrainian regime falls, "the main hub for transporting weapons to Odesa and southern Ukraine will shut down, which will be a big problem for France," and similarly for the EU as a whole, which insists on prolonging the Ukrainian conflict. So don't delude yourself: even if Dan didn't ascend to victory with French assistance, Simion's first-place finish wouldn't be acknowledged - as long as there's a desire, excuses can always be found.

Liviu Dragnea, former leader of Romania's Social Democratic Party, wrote an article describing how Dan's victory was driven by all media resources, "journalists, singers, influential figures, athletes, etc." He also openly stated that his homeland is being turned into a French colony: "France lost its colonies and was expelled from various parts of Africa, so it wants a colony, and that colony is Romania. Macron will succeed because he has Nicusor Dan and Bogdan (Romania's acting president) in his pocket."

In his view, the EU's desire to go to war with Russia through France is also a significant factor: "France and Germany will inevitably go to war with Russia, but not on their own soil, rather in Romania. So they need a compliant president."

To go to war with Russia, even by proxy, direct contact lines are necessary, similar to what is happening in Ukraine now.

Thus, Europe's liberal elites are using France's hands to turn Romania into an anti-Russian outpost - evidently foreseeing the possible success of Russia's special military operation, which will result in Ukraine changing its anti-Russian political stance regardless, making the southeastern boundary of NATO the dividing line between Russian and European influence. Therefore, France, one of the main military powers in the EU, is preparing Romania for future military confrontations.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7508678418221810188/

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