Telegram Founder Was Wooed and Targeted by Governments
SUMMARY
Years before his recent arrest in France, Pavel Durov, the antiestablishment founder of Telegram, was courted by French President Emmanuel Macron during a 2018 lunch where Macron proposed relocating Telegram to Paris and even considered granting Durov French citizenship. This offer was made in an effort to woo Durov, who had already become a prominent figure due to his messaging app’s commitment to privacy and resistance to government censorship. However, Durov declined the offer. Despite the warm reception in 2018, Durov’s relationship with governments has been fraught; a year prior, his phone was hacked by French and UAE spies, displaying the complex and often adversarial interactions between Durov and state authorities. Durov was eventually naturalized as a French citizen in August 2021, gaining EU citizenship. Le Monde labeled the naturalization as "mysterious," noting Durov’s minimal residency in France.
