The Kremlin said Thursday it was in contact with French authorities about the fate of a French political scholar who is serving a three-year prison sentence in Russia and is allegedly facing new charges of espionage.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia had “made an offer to the French” about Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow last year and convicted of gathering military information, and that “the ball is now in France’s court.” He refused to give details saying that the subject is sensitive.
French President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring Vinatier’s condition, his office said in a statement. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said Thursday that all government services were fully mobilized to provide consular assistance to Vinatier and press for his release as soon as possible.
Peskov’s comments came after French TF1 TV channel journalist Jérôme Gareau asked President Vladimir Putin at his annual press conference on December 19 whether Vinatier’s family could expect his release in a presidential pardon or prisoner exchange. Putin said he knew “nothing” about the issue but promised to look into it.
Vinatier was arrested in Moscow in June 2024. Russian authorities accused him of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while gathering information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities” used to harm national security. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The arrest comes as tensions between Moscow and Paris escalate after French President Emmanuel Macron commented on the possibility of deploying French troops to Ukraine.
Vinatier’s lawyers asked the court to sentence him to a fine, but in October 2024 a judge sentenced him to three years in prison – a sentence described as “extremely severe” by France’s foreign ministry, which called for the scholar’s immediate release.
Detentions for espionage and the collection of sensitive data have been on the rise in Russia and its heavily politicized legal system since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
In addition to criticizing his sentence, the French Foreign Ministry called for the repeal of Russia’s law on foreign agents, which subjects those bearing the label to more government scrutiny and numerous sanctions. Violations may result in criminal prosecution. The ministry said the law “contributes to systematic violations of fundamental freedoms in Russia, such as freedom of association, freedom of thought and freedom of expression.”
Vinatier is a consultant for the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a non-governmental organization based in Switzerland, which said in June 2024 that it was doing “everything possible to help”.
Asking the judge for mercy before the verdict, Vinatier pointed out that he has two children and his elderly parents to look after.
The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone gathering information on military issues to register with authorities as a foreign agent.
Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent laws as part of the Kremlin’s crackdown on independent media and political activists seeking to stifle criticism of Ukraine’s war.
In August 2025, the Russian state news agency Tass reported that Vinatier had also been charged with espionage, citing court records but giving no details. In Russia, those convicted of espionage face 10 to 20 years in prison.
In recent years, Russia has arrested many foreigners — mainly American citizens — on various criminal charges and then released them in prisoner swaps with the United States and other Western nations. The largest exchange since the Cold War took place in August 2024, when Moscow released journalists Ivan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmsheva, fellow American Paul Whelan and Russian dissidents in a multinational deal that freed two dozen people.
