Macron backs decision to grant French citizenship to Telegram co-founder

The French president added that he would continue to grant citizenship to those who deserve it

French President Emmanuel Macron said the earlier decision to grant French citizenship to co-founder of the Telegram messenger Pavel Durov was justified.

“We made this decision in 2018, and I think it is totally justified,” he said at a joint news conference with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade. “I think granting citizenship to outstanding businessmen, athletes and performers is a right thing to do.”

According to Macron, Durov “has made the effort to learn the French language.”

The French president added that he would continue to grant citizenship to those who deserve it.

Durov was detained in the Le Bourget airport on August 24. On the next day, his custody period was prolonged up to 96 hours. On August 28, his preliminary custody was over, the entrepreneur was delivered to a court, where the prosecutor charged Durov with six offences, which include complicity in administration of an online platform that enabled illegal transactions within, committed within a criminal group. The offense, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros.