Romania's far right takes aim at France
Since the start of the campaign for the Romanian presidential election, which was eventually won on Sunday, May 18, by the pro-European candidate Nicusor Dan, a strong anti-French sentiment has been growing in this Eastern European country. The far right, and especially the defeated candidate, George Simion, adopted hateful rhetoric in stark contrast to the traditional alliance between Romania and France, two countries with deep cultural, linguistic, and historical ties.
Although Simion had initially conceded defeat, on Tuesday, May 20, he abruptly changed course and filed complaints – so far all rejected – against alleged French interference. "Nicusor [Dan] is not the president of Romanians. Nicusor is a puppet of France," attacked the former ultra football supporter, calling on his supporters "to take to the barricades."
While Simion also, without evidence, accused neighboring Moldova – a country led by a strongly pro-European government – of having spent "€100 million" to "buy votes" in favor of the winner, it was mainly the French intelligence services that he targeted, accusing them of having supposedly "manipulated social media and used algorithms to influence Romanian citizens." These were precisely the same accusations Romanian authorities had previously leveled at Moscow during the original election held in November 2024.
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