The image of Russia and kraine in the French medias

The Image of Russia and Ukraine in the French Medias[pic 1]

 “The world, according to Putin. Ukraine, United Nations, gas: the Russian president impose his law” ^[1]

Since March 2014 the Ukrainian and Russian armies are leading combats in the Ukrainian Donbass region. The conflict born from the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation between February and March 2014, and from pro-Russian protests in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast. Both countries are fighting for this parts of territory. The annexation has been lived by Ukraine like a violation of international law and treaties such as “the Agreement on Establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991, Helsinki Accords, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1994 and Treaty on friendship, cooperation and partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine”^[2]. In this context the international relations get involved in and the mediatisation of this conflicts is shared between the pro-Russian Medias, the pro-Ukrainian ones and the one which do not take part of the debate, or, at least, try to. Interests conflicts, alliances, negotiations, agreements, it is an international debate between states. In China for example they do not talk about the presence of Russian soldiers on the battle field. The journalist even say a “new” truce, which qualifies it as a repeating act. Never in this short article, are mentioned the Russian forces which are also fighting in the eastern part of Ukraine, trying to annexe them. As in this article of China.org^[3], the journalist only mentioned the pro-Russian rebels on the field, no Russian. Whereas what a French article said. It is mentioned in this Info Defense article^[4], that between 10 and 20 thousands of Russian soldiers are deployed on the conflict zone, in Ukraine. In the article the journalist describe how the Russians forces are moving, helping the pro-Russian rebels, in which cars, military moving stock, the movements are made. Furthermore, about the arrest of a Ukrainian pilot, in a Daily China article^[5], the journalist clearly takes part in the Russian side. To try to compare the positions, compare, I red some American newspaper to know the position adopted about the Russia and the conflict. One of the last article was about NATO’s position so, even better. Clearly, the New York Times defend a western, Russian sceptical point of view. In the following article, “NATO Says Still Has 'Clear Disagreements' With Russia over Ukraine”^[6], In 2014, after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, NATO sanctioned the State, and accused its and the rebels pro-Russia forces for the death of more than ten thousand people. The information treatment takes the main power in the international relation. Regarding the two articles quoted up there, the points of view are different knowing the alliances between the states. As a French Erasmus student in Poland, it was apparent for me to make a report about the French different Medias’ point of view of the conflicts in general and as a political science student to mention the media coverage of the politics’ position.

As a NATO member, the French behaviour is following the one of the United States of America but the Media are sometimes going further in the Russian scepticism, but also, depending the position of the Media, in coherence with the Russian Federation behaviour. About Ukraine, in the French Medias’ sphere, we can see a big difference. The information about the war, the relation between our governments are described, in some Medias the situation in the army, how is the organization but it is devoid of hard judgements as we can read about Russia.

        In all the Medias, the caricature of Putin is the one of a dictator, with a sense of the democracy equal to zero, lying to the people, etc.  As a simple example, the main cover of this paper, from one French newspaper relating and publishing articles from all the world’s newspapers (in majority from the North), Courrier International. “The world, according to Putin. Ukraine, United Nations, gas: the Russian president impose his law”^[7]. On the draw we can see Putin with a seriously ridiculous and cold face. And a game which controls the world “MONDE” WORLD. Putin is presented as playing with the world. The perfect dictator figure.  

One survey of 30 minutes emission^[8] on France Inter, a really listened French radio, has been made by the International Press team. It was about the visit of Marine Le Pen the extreme right candidate to the next presidential elections in May 2017, in the Red Kremlin. The weekend of the 25th of March 2017, all the heads of States of the European Union met in Rome to celebrate the 60 years old of the Union. Precisely this day, to “humiliate” Europe, as the journalist says in the editorial, Vladimir Putin invited Marine Lepen, the extreme right presidential candidate, in the Red Square. The subject of the article is more axed about the protests of the 26th of March all around the Russian Federation. Thousands of people, mostly youth, students, marched against the generalized corruption at the top of the State. They brave all the limits, the prohibitions to say they angriness. We were thinking that the opposition to the power in place was dead after the murder of Boris Nemtsov two years ago and since the parliament is only composed of State friendly deputies since last September. The civil society still exists as we could have seen Sunday in the streets and on the social Medias. More than one million of people were following the live of Alexis Navalny candidate for the presidential election of 2018. Thousands of people have been arrested and all the closest supports of Navalny are still in jail. The opposition gave a nickname to the regime in place, The Scammers Party. The journalist clearly supports the opponents. The image of the Russian government convoyed here is full of corruption, repression, dictatorial. “C’est pour ça qu’il faut soutenir, ouvertement, fortement Navalny et ces opposants russes emprisonnés et dénoncer le comportement liberticide de Vladimir Putin » This is why, we have to support, openly, strongly, Navalny and these Russian opponents in jailed and denounce the liberticidal behaviour of Vladimir Putin.