It’s a spectacle as predictable as clockwork and just as tiring: the widespread panic about Russia every time Western liberals and centrists feel their grip loosening. This time, it’s France’s turn. With the far-right National Rally (RN) under Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella doing well at the polls, French and other Western mainstream media are back at it, dishing out the same stale fearmongering and blame-shifting narratives.
This latest bout of hysteria is reminiscent of the infamous Russiagate scandal that erupted when Hillary Clinton’s supporters couldn’t accept her loss in the 2016 US presidential election. Clinton’s failure was less about Russian interference and more about her being an unappealing candidate. Unlike her charismatic and morally ambiguous husband, she simply lacked political finesse. Despite being discredited as a hoax, Russiagate lived on, proving immune to facts and reason. As American journalist Matt Taibbi put it, Russiagate was an “epic disaster.” Rather than harming its target, Donald Trump, it arguably strengthened him. Now, almost a decade later, Trump is back with more elaborate plans, supported by a conservative Supreme Court.
What Russiagate did achieve was a massive blow to the credibility of US mainstream media. Already suspect after the Iraq WMD fiasco, their reputation took another hit. By 2022, US media credibility was the lowest among 46 nations, according to a Reuters Institute study. A year prior, a staggering 83 percent of Americans viewed “fake news” as a problem, with 56 percent – mostly Republicans and independents – considering the media the “enemy of the American people.”
Yet here we are again. The Washington Post, relying on French intelligence and anonymous sources, is mapping out an “ecosystem” of Russian influence targeting the French elections and the Olympics. This isn’t a recent development; according to them, it’s been happening for about a year. The irony is palpable. Did the Russians predict Macron’s bizarre political decisions? Are we now to believe Macron is working for Russia too? It’s absurd.
Le Monde, the French paper of record, has been stoking fears of Russian subversion for months, always pointing the finger at the National Rally. Last June, they echoed a report from a Macron party deputy accusing the RN of collaborating with Moscow. Recently, they’ve been sounding the alarm about France’s lack of preparedness for an “information war,” again blaming the RN.
This February, Le Monde relayed warnings from the French DGST security service about Russian plans to “destabilize the European elections.” The elections, however, proceeded without incident, handing Macron a solid defeat. With Macron’s political gamble in tatters, Le Monde has reached new heights of Russia Panic, declaring that “Putin’s Russia has endorsed the National Rally.” The evidence? A post on Russia’s Foreign Ministry X account featuring a picture of a celebrating Marine Le Pen and a message about France’s growing demand for a sovereign foreign policy, free from US and EU control.
One might quibble about the term “diktat” since EU elites voluntarily submit for power and luxury, but otherwise, where’s the lie? For Macron’s supporters, associating this message with Le Pen is inflammatory. Yet, compared to the West’s routine calls for “regime change” in Russia, the Russian post is mild. It merely acknowledges what everyone knows: the National Rally advocates for dialogue and compromise with Moscow, a legitimate stance that French voters have the right to support without being branded traitors.
In essence, Russia Panic is just as tedious in French as it is in English. It’s the same tired, silly routine. Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, that all allegations of Russian influence are true (they’re not, but let’s pretend). What would change? Nothing. These supposed “influence operations” pale in comparison to the failures of Western elites in economics, foreign policy, and security. The real force undermining the status quo isn’t Russia; it’s the Western elites’ own incompetence. Maybe it’s time to rage about that for a change.