“I gave Mr. Durov French citizenship, who learned French, as I gave to Mr. [Evan] Spiegel, an American entrepreneur, as I gave citizenship to some athletes and artists, and I think this is something that is very good for our country and I will continue to do so,” Macron said during an unrelated trip to the Serbian capital Belgrade on Thursday.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the French presidency had told POLITICO that the call to grant Durov citizenship had been made by the foreign affairs ministry. The foreign affairs ministry had said it “does not communicate on individual citizenship procedures.”
Official records show Durov was formally granted French citizenship in 2021. An in-depth report by Le Monde last year highlighted the lack of transparency surrounding the matter, with questions raised about whether the Telegram boss was fulfilling the required criteria.
Macron also dismissed reports suggesting that he was planning to meet Durov, who was indicted Wednesday on multiple charges including enabling criminal activity on his popular messaging app and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.
“I did not call and was not planning on meeting with Mr. Durov, neither at the end of last week nor in the following days,” Macron told reporters.
Macron also denied that he had prior knowledge of Durov’s plans to travel to France before he was arrested at Paris’ Le Bourget airport on Saturday night after arriving from Azerbaijan.
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