Macron defends move to give Telegram's Durov French passport

President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday defended a decision to grant French nationality to Telegram chief Pavel Durov, who faces a possible trial related to illegal content carried on his popular messaging app.

Speaking to reporters on a visit to Serbia, the French president said he did not know that Durov would be coming to France and denied having issued "any invitation whatsoever" to the Russian-born billionaire.

"We are a country where there is a separation of powers," Macron said.

"I was completely unaware that he was coming. This is normal," he added.

Macron said he "totally" backed the decision to grant Durov citizenship, adding it was a "strategy" concerning those who "make the effort to learn the French language" and who "shine in the world".

Durov, 39, was sensationally detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris at the weekend and on Wednesday evening charged with a litany of violations related to the messaging app. He was also banned from leaving the country.

Numerous questions have been raised about the timing and circumstances of Durov's detention, with supporters seeing him as a freedom of speech champion and detractors as a menace who willfully allowed Telegram to get out of control.

According to a source close to the investigation, Durov had emphasized his links to the French head of state during questioning.

Le Monde newspaper reported on Wednesday that Durov had met Macron on several occasions prior to receiving French nationality in 2021, via a special procedure reserved for those deemed to have made a special contribution to France.

Durov's lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski said it was "absurd" to suggest Durov could be implicated in any crime committed on the app, adding: "Telegram complies in all respects with European rules concerning digital technology."

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned France against turning the case into "political persecution", emphasizing he is a "Russian citizen" and "we will be watching what happens next."

Among those also voicing support for Durov is fellow tech tycoon and chief executive of X, Elon Musk, who has posted comments under the hashtag #FreePavel.

After the charges, Musk posted a meme on X of a surveillance camera attached to buildings inscribed with France's motto, "liberty, equality, fraternity."

- Litany of charges -

Durov was granted conditional release on a bail of five million euros and on the condition he must report to a police station twice a week as well as remaining in France, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement.

The charges concern alleged crimes involving an organized group, including "complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable an illicit transaction".

This charge alone could see him jailed for up to 10 years and fined 500,000 euros if convicted.

Durov has also been charged with refusing to share documents demanded by authorities as well as "dissemination in an organized group of images of minors in child pornography" as well as drug trafficking, fraud and money laundering.

The next step will be for the case to be sent to trial.

Separately, Durov is also being investigated on suspicion of "serious acts of violence" towards one of his children while he and the boy's mother were in Paris, a source said. She filed a criminal complaint against Durov in Switzerland last year.

The tech mogul founded Telegram as he was in the process of quitting his native Russia a decade ago following a dispute with authorities related to ownership of his first project, the Russian-language social network VKontakte.

An enigmatic figure who rarely speaks in public, Durov is a citizen of Russia, France and the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is based.

Forbes magazine estimates his current fortune at $15.5 billion, though he proudly promotes the virtues of an ascetic life that includes ice baths and not drinking alcohol or coffee.

A source close to the case, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Thursday that after his arrest Durov asked that French telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel, chairman and founder of the Iliad mobile operator, be informed of his arrest.

Niel is seen as being close to Macron. Contacted by AFP, Niel's entourage declined to comment.

A UAE government official said it "prioritizes the welfare of its citizens" and was "in touch with the French authorities about this case."