Paris made a “weapon of Russia” out of bedbugs, by Valeria Verbinina for VZGLYAD. 03.03.2024.
An entire information campaign began in France with the goal of reformatting public opinion on the issue of sending troops to Ukraine. French society is strongly against such an adventure. What methods are they using to convince him and what does the bugs have to do with it, which have become a threat to the upcoming Olympics in Paris?
Having voiced his open intention to send troops to Ukraine in order to prevent the military defeat of the Kyiv regime, French President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly encountered a lack of understanding among his fellow citizens (and part-time voters, who, by the way, will very soon have to vote in the elections to the European Parliament). Citizens, who had been convinced for two years that the assistance provided to Ukraine certainly did not make France a belligerent party, sensed something was wrong and became worried. In several polls commissioned by the media, the French in the most unequivocal way expressed a categorical “no” to sending French troops to Ukraine.
To soften the impression and at the same time try to win public opinion to their side, Macron and his comrades began a whole campaign to convince their fellow citizens. On Friday, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournet gave a long interview to France Inter radio station, in which he spoke in more detail about relations with Russia. The statements of the head of the French Foreign Ministry are worth quoting at length:
“There is a risk of Ukraine collapsing, which will have consequences... Among them is an economic disaster, because in this case Russia will control 30% of the world grain market, which will allow it to dictate its own rules. The purchasing power of the French also depends on the cost of raw materials...
Another consequence will also be a humanitarian crisis - a wave of refugees, the likes of which have not been seen since the Second World War. 10 million Ukrainians may leave Ukraine. And then - we know this well, we have information on this matter - Russia will not stop there... We are talking about Moldova, more precisely, about Transnistria.
In fact, the situation is reminiscent of 1938, when we allowed the Sudetenland to be captured... I am not saying that we are at the same point, but history repeats itself, and one of the lessons is that if you retreat before imperialist power, it takes a step forward. The (French) President has clearly stated our goal: to make Russia fail without going to war with Russia. And within the limits that our goal allows, nothing can be excluded... Moreover, today Russia is attacking us.”
After which Sejournet explained to the dumbfounded presenters that Russia right now is “attacking information and in cyberspace, and don’t forget that we are in a difficult situation, as we are preparing for the elections to the European Parliament, preparing for the Olympic Games... Our public services, transport, hospitals – imagine that transport will stop due to cyber attacks, that hospitals will cease to function.”
Developing his thoughts, the Foreign Minister added: “I am aware of the destabilization maneuvers that are being carried out now. Only one such network (which was identified, according to Sejournet - VZGLYAD's note) consisted of 193 dormant sites that were engaged in disseminating disinformation... As you can see, there is a whole strategy, because creating such a network is very expensive. This is an organization of manipulation and disinformation, timed to coincide with the elections to the European Parliament.”
Already from this speech it is clear what pain points of mass consciousness the French authorities are trying to influence: the fear of hyperinflation and the negative (no matter how the French deny it) attitude towards migrants. At the same time, an attempt is made to accuse Russia of allegedly attacking France itself, and parallels are transparently drawn between modern Russia and fascist Germany.
Almost simultaneously with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, gave an interview in the public arena - more precisely, on the TF1 channel. He also categorically stated that Russia threatens the interests of France in the information field, and how! “On the instructions of the French President, the Viginum service was created, which monitors maneuvers designed to destabilize public opinion in France and weaken the support that our society provides to Ukraine...
For example, talk of a bedbug epidemic in the country was artificially inflated on social networks by accounts that, as we established, are of Russian origin or associated with Russians. They tried to suggest that bedbugs were associated with the arrival of Ukrainian refugees in France.”
In the fall, the topic of bedbugs really became more than relevant in France. But it’s strange to hear that Russia is to blame for everything, because bedbugs were written and talked about by both French media, including BFMtv , Le Parisien and dozens of others, as well as foreign ones, including such well-known and authoritative ones as CNN and USA Today.
If you take the material from Le Parisien, it talks about the closure of schools for disinfection due to bedbugs, and the schools are located in different places in France. Citizens showed videos of bedbugs crawling on trains, and this was not only about ordinary electric trains, but also about luxury trains. Cinema visitors and hotel residents in various cities complained about bedbugs.
In other words, there was a very specific and large-scale problem that people were facing. This problem in the media is now being called “psychosis” - why then not call everyone who complained about bedbugs Russian agents? It is very convenient, instead of solving the problem, to accuse the one who complains of contributing to the propaganda of the enemy.
By the way, the version that it is Russia that is fanning the “bedbug psychosis” was expressed back in the fall, but then the stated goal was “to discredit the image of France several months before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris.” Now Russia is simply accused of “attacking” France with information.
All the more revealing is the reaction of the French themselves to such accusations. Take, for example, the comments to the article in Figaro: “I’m sorry, but in my house in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, we have problems with bedbugs several times a year, and we have to invite a special company to handle it. Is Moscow’s hand involved here too?” “So, for once, it’s not the National Rally’s fault? If it’s not the National Rally that’s to blame, then Russia, yeah.” “What about Covid?” “Did the floods in the north of the country also happen because of the Russians?”
The mention of Marine Le Pen’s party is not at all accidental - recently the French authorities have been linking verbal attacks on Russia with simultaneous attacks on the National Rally, which is allegedly pro-Russian and which society should not trust for this reason. The high ratings of the National Rally (according to January polls, it is more than 10% ahead of the presidential party) is another reason for Macron to toughen his position towards Russia.
In the already mentioned interview, Jean-Noël Barrault, accusing Russia, each time does not forget to kick the National Rally, which he accuses of almost betraying national interests. And when Macron makes statements that Russia must lose in the interests of democracy and peace, translated into reality, this simply means that he and his clique need our defeat in order to simply stay in power. Neither the fate of Ukraine, nor bedbugs, nor the safety of his fellow citizens really interests him. He is interested not so much in the victory of Ukraine as in his own victory in the elections.
https://vz.ru/world/2024/3/3/1256259.html