Bordeaux City Hall Refused to Show Russian Propaganda Film about Crimea
The Ukrainian Embassy in France reported that at least one Russian propaganda film won’t be seen by the French.
In the French City of Bordeaux the film “Crimea - Path to the Motherland” was scheduled for screening in one of the city municipal halls on December 11th. Shot by TV channel “Russia-1”, the film tells about the annexation of Crimea by Russia and purports to justify the events that led to the war in Donbass.
The Ukrainian Ambassador asked the mayor of Bordeaux to cancel the screening of the film. On December 9th, the Ukrainian Community in France collected signatures for a petition that also demanded that the mayor of Bordeaux cancel permission to show the film.
"After the Ukrainian revolution in 2014, Russia took advantage of the weakness of the Ukrainian state to annex Crimea. The Russian military, disguised as local armed forces seized public buildings, the referendum was held during a few days of chaos... That annexation is not recognized by the democratic states and it is the cause of a number of sanctions against Russia. Showing this propaganda film in Bordeaux is the Kremlin’s attempt to legitimize the annexation of Crimea," stated the text of the petition.
Subsequently, the text of the petition was updated to include a message about the cancelation of the screening of the Russian film. "Good news thanks to the mobilization of all our success. Thank you to all."
The French Embassy in Ukraine confirmed that in response to the Ambassador’s request, the mayor of Bordeaux decided to cancel the show. The Embassy also emphasized the special role of the Ukrainian community in this case.