French President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring the situation surrounding Frenchman Laurent Vinatier, designated by the Russian Ministry of Justice as a foreign agent, who is detained in Russia on espionage charges, BFMTV reports, citing sources close to the president.
The channel's source added that Macron "remains determined to ensure his rapid release with the support of the relevant state agencies."
The Kremlin reported on contacts between Moscow and Paris on the Vinatier case, during which the Russian side "made an offer to the French." "The ball is now in the French court," said the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, without providing details.
TF1 journalist Jérôme Garaud asked about the Vinatier case during a live Q&A with Vladimir Putin on December 19. Putin then said he was hearing the name for the first time and promised to look into the matter, adding: “If there is any chance of a positive resolution to this issue, if Russian law allows it, we will do everything we can to do so.“
Vinatier, a consultant at the Swiss NGO “Center for Humanitarian Dialogue“, was arrested in Russia in June 2024. Three months later, he was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of collecting information about the Russian military as a foreign agent (part 3, article 330.1 of the Criminal Code). The French Foreign Ministry called the sentence excessively harsh and criticized Russian legislation on foreign agents, while Macron stressed that Vinatier had not worked for the French authorities.
In August 2025, the website of the Moscow Lefortovo court indicated that a French citizen had been charged with espionage (Article 276, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison).