While the detention of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France made a big noise in the world, Chris Pavlovski, founder and CEO of Rumble, another social platform, said he left Europe.

Pavlovski, who made a statement on X and is also a Canadian citizen, did not explain which country he left and where he was going.

“France has crossed the red line”

Rumble CEO stated that France has crossed the red line and that they also have lawsuits in French courts and made the following statements:

“I’m a little late to this, but for good reason — I’ve just safely departed from Europe. France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech. Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov’s immediate release.”

Russian-French relations are strained

On the other hand, according to the US media’s Wall Street Journal, Durov’s arrest also strained Russian-French relations. The Russian Consulate in France made a statement on the subject yesterday morning and stated that they requested information from the French authorities. However, it was stated that the French still did not provide any information to the consulate on the subject and this situation attracted the reaction of Russia.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that some Russian officials described the detention as an indirect hostile act against Russia.

French authorities are expected to make an official statement on the reason for the detention today.