Disinfo: France no longer has independence, it is a puppet of the US

Summary

At present, France is completely dependent on US actions and policies and no longer has the independence it had. Therefore, if the United States imposes sanctions on the Russian Federation, then in France with each change of government, one can observe a deterioration in the economic situation, living standards and subjectivity in international relations.

Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on the US presence in Europe. It claims that European countries are no longer truly sovereign and the US dictates policies to the EU and its member states.

France is a sovereign, independent country with a democratically elected government. France is not subordinate to the US. They are important allies, members of NATO and the United Nations. They respect mutual sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Relations between the United States and France are active and friendly. The United States is one of France’s major allies and the cooperation is particularly strong in efforts to counter terrorism. The two countries share common values and have parallel policies on most political, economic, and security issues. The US and France work closely on many issues, most notably in combating terrorism, efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and on regional problems, including in Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, and Central Asia.

See similar disinformation claims alleging that the EU and/or its member states are puppets of the US: European countries are under heavy US control, NATO is a new type of US colonialism, Germany and the EU are subordinate to the US, the US needs Poland as a Trojan horse to prevent EU unity and EU-Russia rapprochement, the actual ruler of the European population is the US, the US has long regarded the EU as a kind of protectorate, protests in France were instigated by the US.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 226
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 04/01/2021
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: France, US, Russia
  • Keywords: Puppets, US presence in Europe, Sovereignty
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Disinfo: Russia's foreign policy is based on respect of UN resolutions, territorial integrity and people's rights to self determination

We have always known Russia’s foreign policy to be principled, transparent and clear, and based on respecting the decisions of the United Nations and the Security Council on all regional and international crises.

If we follow [Russia’s foreign ministry] activities, we will clearly see how they were never biased towards one party at the expense of another, but rather put the national interest of the peoples of these countries at the top of their priorities; it is always based on respect for state sovereignty, territorial integrity and the right of peoples to self-determination.

Disproof

A pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia being respectful of international law, and never interfering in other country's affairs. Russia has a long record of violating other states' sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Since 1991, Russia was involved in several international conflicts, including intervention in neighbouring states, such as Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014. Many international organisations condemned Russian occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, see e.g. the CSCE statement here and the European Parliament's declaration.

Disinfo: Global elites want to increase control of the population after the pandemic

With the arrival of the vaccines, humankind seems ready to win the fight against coronavirus. But some elites that plan a Great Reset afterwards don’t want to return to normalcy. Along with the idea of “health passports”, one can easily imagine a world in which those not vaccinated could be easily excluded from vital services. Did you post too many anti-vaccine publications on Facebook? Sorry, my friend, your credit is denied.

With the members of the World Economic Forum literally funding their own activist movements, it will be hard to discern top-down from grassroots change. In promoting new environmentalism, Greta Thunberg and British Petroleum are in the same team. In reinventing capitalism, Pope Francis and Mastercard are working together to give corporations a stronger voice in cultural and political matters. Regarding health policies, the WEF and a big part of the world’s media seem to agree on leaving Bill Gates to decide the future of medicine and the prevention of diseases. However, if you discuss any of the contradictions and problems inherent to these post-Covid predictions, you will be labelled as a conspiracy theorist. Amidst the global commotion caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is easy to imagine the world’s leaders and corporations taking advantage of the chaos to impose more control over the population.

Disproof

This is a mix of several recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about global elites secretly ruling the world, in this case taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to impose their agenda, and merged with negative messages about Greta Thunberg, Bill Gates and Pope Francis, all of them frequent targets of pro-Kremlin disinformation.

Contrary to the claim, the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset is an initiative aiming to start a dialogue among global leaders on reverting the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing inequality and setting new societal priorities including climate and environment, not a plan for global control. The article is also part of a wider disinformation campaign on the coronavirus pandemic.

Disinfo: The EU will help Scotland to fight for its independence

One minute after the UK finally left the EU on the midnight of January 1, 2021, Scotland’s prime minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “Scotland will be back soon, Europe don’t turn off the lights”. One hour later, an article she wrote was published in the European edition of Politico under the expressive headline: “Brexit changed the rules of the game for Scottish independence”. If her tweet can be considered a beautiful gesture of a politician, the publication of her article in Politico, whose headquarters are in Brussels, clearly insinuates that the European Union has the intention to provide support for Scotland’s separatism and take a section of the former Great Britain.

Disproof

The claim is false. Politico Europe is a private media company unrelated to the European Union, which has no say in the contents that this outlet decides to publish. Therefore, the claim that the publication of Nicola Sturgeon’s article “insinuates that the EU has the intention to provide support for Scotland’s separatism” is baseless.

Besides, the European Union has no intention to help Scotland fight for its independence. Some European leaders and former EU officials made it clear that, while an independent Scotland may be welcome back in the block if it applied to rejoin, this would only happen if it achieved its independence in a way consistent with British and international legislation, which would include the permission of the UK’s Parliament to launch a new referendum.