French govt warns right-wing TV channel about rebroadcasting expelled pro-Putin pundit

France's interior minister warned on Thursday of criminal proceedings if a French television channel allows back on air a Russian commentator who was expelled over claims that she is a Kremlin agent.

Xenia Fedorova, 45, was formally expelled from France in August after losing an appeal against a court ruling which ordered her to leave as a result of spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda.

Read moreFormer RT France chief Xenia Fedorova fuels concerns over pro-Kremlin influence in French media

But French conservative television channel, CNews, has indicated that she will appear on air again soon via video link.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez wrote to France's ARCOM media regulator, explaining Fedorova had been accused of "manipulating information and public debate" and "infringing upon the fundamental interests of the nation", leading to her expulsion and the freezing of her assets.

Any return to air "directly contravenes the expulsion and asset-freezing measures imposed and is liable to give rise to several criminal charges", he said in the letter revealed by Le Monde daily and seen by AFP.

Read moreFrench court rejects pro-Kremlin commentator's expulsion appeal

Fedorova is the former head of the French arm of RT, which was banned in France after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Following this, she became a commentator for outlets within conservative French billionaire Vincent Bollore's group of broadcasting outlets, including Cnews.

Fedorova, who has decried the accusations as "censorship", has said she was outside France on holiday when the deportation order went into effect so was never physically deported.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)