Pro-Ukrainian public activists in France seek to force the Russian sailboat Shtandart, which is under EU sanctions, to permanently leave French waters, despite the connivance of some local officials and event organizers who are still happy to see a copy of the frigate from the time of Peter I.
The spokesman for the group “No Shtandart In Europe”, Bernard Grua, told an Ukrinform correspondent of the next actions to be taken by the activists.
Shtandart is set to arrive for the Gulf of Morbihan Week holiday, which will take place from May 26 to June 1. So we have already written a letter to the prefect. It is he who should ensure compliance with the rules. Unfortunately, the prefect is temporarily absent; in any case, there is a request to the prefecture, which has already caused a great resonance,” Grua says.
According to him, the group also prepared a special letter for the organizer of the sea holiday, since his rhetoric was previously “absolutely unacceptable and Russophile.”
“The 5th package of EU sanctions, which applies to the Russian ship, was adopted after the crimes committed by the Russians in Bucha. So we have prepared a letter from the Bucha city council, which will remind us of what exactly happened there during the Russian offensive. Perhaps this will make us think, in any case, it will show that Russian crimes are not to be joked about,” the spokesman emphasized.
He claims that the position of many local journalists is to support the “fraudulent stay” of the ship, and some French officials are still turning a blind eye to the decision of the European authorities.
“There is a general ban on the Shtandart checking in all European ports. This was further clarified by the European Council on June 24. This was the subject of a judgment by the Rennes court and a resolution of the Council of State. But, employing the so-called ‘humanitarian blackmail’ and common interests with some civil servants, she continues to dock, in particular, in La Rochelle or Sable-d’Olonne. There the ship takes on board passengers who pay them, and the captain of the ship, Vladimir Martus, knows very well what to say in France,” he explained.
A group of activists has also prepared an appeal to Gabriel Attal, former Prime Minister who is now head of the France-Ukraine friendship group in parliament. It has already been signed by about 60 public organizations from France, Spain, and Ukraine.
“Our goal is to deal with this ship once and for all and to obtain from the French authorities the same decision as was made in Spain, namely a complete ban on the Russian sailboat from being in French territorial waters,” Groa concluded.
Earlier, the “No Shtandart In Europe” initiative, which has been operating for over three years, filed an official request with the prefect of the Seine-Maritime department and management of the Le Havre port to ensure the implementation of sanctions and prevent the ship from checkign in the port.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russia’s Shtandart sailboat was not allowed to dock in the port of Le Havre. The ship is now heading for the island of Aix.
Source: Russian ship must leave French territorial waters for good - French activist
