Macron said he did not know about Durov's arrival in Paris. The founder of Telegram allegedly on the day of his detention planned a meeting with the president of France

Emmanuel Macron said he was not aware of the arrival of the founder of Telegram Pavel Durov to France and did not plan to meet with him.

“I was absolutely not aware of Mr. Durov's arrival in France. And this is normal. We are a country where there is a separation of powers. These are independent actions of the French legal system. The information that I sent him an invitation is a lie. I was not going to meet with Durov either at the end of last week or in the coming days, ”the French president said at a press conference during his visit to Belgrade.

Macron also called the decision on the provision of French citizenship in 2018. According to the president, he considers it right to provide citizenship to those who achieve success in the world and "make efforts to learn the French language." As WSJ wrote , in 2018, Macron met with Durov and offered to transfer the headquarters of Telegram to Paris.

Earlier, notes BFMTV, the satirical publication Le Canard Enchabor reported that Pavel Durov allegedly told the police at the time of his detention at the Paris airport that he was expected at dinner with Emmanuel Macron. Also, according to the BFMTV source, the founder of Telegram, after the arrest, tried to contact the French billionaire Xavier Niel. This businessman is part of the ten richest people in France - he owns the French telecommunications company Illiad, he also owns the share in the Le Monde newspaper. BFMTV calls Xavier Noel close to Emmanuel Macron.

According to the Reuters source in the Paris Prosecutor's Office, neither Macron nor the Foreign Ministry of France were warned in advance about the planned detention of the founder of Telegram. Durov himself was also not aware of the issued warrant for his arrest, the interlocutor added.

• Pavel Durov was detained at the airport of Paris on the evening of August 24. Four days later, who were detained, he was released on bail of five million euros, he was forbidden to leave the territory of France, he should celebrate the police twice a week. The founder of Telegram was charged with several articles related to organized crime, among them - the refusal to cooperate with the authorities and complicity in the spread of drugs and child pornography.