Key facts
- Haddad said the package covers 150 additional entities and 50 banks, with France proposing most of the entities.
- Russia barred Le Monde reporter Ariane Chemin, journalist Paul Gogo and lawmakers Sacha Houlie and Arthur Delaporte.
- Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the Kremlin's framing of the ban confirmed Xenia Fedorova's ties to Russian authorities.
- Haddad said France will continue economic pressure on Russia and support for Ukraine.
France's Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad said on Thursday, November 12, 2026, that the European Union will approve more sanctions against Russia on Monday, targeting 150 additional entities and 50 banks. Haddad told LCI television that France proposed the bulk of the entities to add, and said Paris would keep up economic pressure on Russia while supporting Ukraine.
Haddad also condemned Russia's decision on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, to bar Le Monde reporter Ariane Chemin, freelance journalist and former Moscow correspondent Paul Gogo, and French lawmakers Sacha Houlie and Arthur Delaporte from entering Russia. "This is intimidation. France will not be intimidated," Haddad said, adding that the lawmakers are involved in the fight against foreign interference.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said earlier on X that the Kremlin presenting the ban as a response to the expulsion from France in July of alleged Russian propagandist Xenia Fedorova "confirmed her ties to Russian authorities." Fedorova, a former chief of RT France who later became a prominent figure on CNews and associated outlets Europe 1 and JDNews, all belonging to conservative tycoon Vincent Bollore, was accused by French authorities of spreading Russian misinformation.