Telegram founder says France asked him to ban conservative Romanian voices

The founder of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, said he refused a request by the head of France's intelligence service to ban Romanian conservative voices ahead of the country's elections.

Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, won the presidential election on Sunday in a shock upset over a hard-right, nationalist rival who had pledged to adopt a path inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump's politics.

"This spring at the Salon des Batailles in the Hôtel de Crillon, Nicolas Lerner, head of French intelligence, asked me to ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of elections. I refused," Durov wrote on X late on Sunday.

"We didn't block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won't start doing it in Europe."

Earlier on Sunday, the French foreign ministry had denied any such interference after Durov implied French involvement in a prior message on Telegram the same day.

That initial message had referred to France by implication, with the emoji of a baguette, but did not name it explicitly.

"France categorically rejects these allegations and calls on everyone to exercise responsibility and respect for Romanian democracy," the foreign ministry said.

Reuters is seeking comment from the intelligence services.