French spy chief sought Telegram censorship before Romanian vote

Telegram founder Pavel Durov claimed that the head of French intelligence, Nicolas Lerner, asked him to block conservative voices in Romania ahead of the country’s presidential election. Durov made the claim in a post on X.

"This spring, at the Hotel de Crillon, the head of French intelligence, Nicolas Lerner, asked me to block conservative voices in Romania before the elections. I refused," Durov wrote.

France’s foreign ministry earlier dismissed Durov’s original message — posted on his Telegram channel on May 18 — as fake. In the post, Durov said a Western European government had asked Telegram to silence Romanian conservative voices. He attached an image of a baguette emoji, which many interpreted as a reference to France.

“We didn’t block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won’t do it in Europe either,” Durov added.

Romania held its presidential runoff vote on May 18–19. Liberal Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan is leading with 54.2% after more than 95% of votes have been counted. His far-right challenger, AUR leader George Simion, trails with 45.8%.