It is intolerable that some people in France side with Russia

To the Editor,

I agree with Simon Heffer on the “how and why” of Russia getting too fair a wind in France.

As well as seeking “balance” by giving airtime to the likes of Xenia Fedorova, there is also a residual and deep-seated lovey-dovey view of Russia, no matter what the doings of the Kremlin, on the part of the French foreign policy establishment and mass media.

It goes back decades, and nowadays sounds hollower and hollower.

Putin’s all-out attempt to Make Russia Great Again has well-placed cheerleaders in France.

More heed should be paid by those peddling the Putin-Lavrov line to the wise words of former ambassador Pierre Lévy in his 2025 memoir Au cœur de la Russie en guerre.

That book should be required reading in all the grandes écoles through which the above presumably pass in glory.

G.W., by email

To the Editor,

Simon Heffer's comment on French attitudes to the war in Ukraine was an interesting analysis of current opinion and loyalties.

One factor, which must certainly influence Donald Trump, is the expectation that America – including the substantial involvement of Trump businesses – would be the dominant partner in exploiting mineral resources in eastern Ukraine should this territory be ceded to Russia in a ‘peace’ settlement.  

As Russia seems to be much less successful in pursuing its aims and is now suffering increasingly serious damage to its infrastructure and economy, while Ukraine is becoming a major player in the development, manufacture and supply of weapons, business opportunities might more likely be with Ukraine than Russia.

M.B., by email

Do you agree that the influence of Russia is a concern in France? Let us know at letters@connexionfrance.com