FRANCE REBEL WELCOMES RUSSIAN OPPONENTS
The leader of rebel France Jean-Luc Mélenchon and several dozen rebel deputies welcomed three Russian opponents of Vladimir Putin, members of the “coalition of Russian socialists against the war,” the AFP noted.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he was “moved” to receive Alexey Sakhnin, Andreï Roudoï and Elizabeta Smirnova, activists of the Russian radical left, who arrived in France on the same day. “Those who are there are those who resist,” said Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “They say to each other, luckily there are French like us. And we tell each other, luckily there are Russians like them”, he added. “It is Putin and his oligarchy, they alone, who bear the responsibility for the war in Ukraine”, insisted the leader of the rebel deputies Mathilde Panot, urging them to “work to isolate Russian power. Welcoming and supporting his opponents participates in this. “.
“In our country there is an atmosphere that cannot be imagined,” said Alexei Sakhnin, through a translator, referring to the “fear of talking about politics” and the fear of being mobilized for the war in Ukraine. All three said that international economic sanctions have had “consequences” on the lives of Russians. “The standard of living has dropped by only 10%,” said Andrei Roudoï.
