France has granted asylum to 19 Russian army deserters since the start of 2024. In July, France recognized refugee status in principle for Russian soldiers.
who refused to fight in Ukraine. This doctrine is based on a European directive of December 13, 2011 and a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of February 26, 2015. The Court nevertheless rejected the request for asylum from a Russian who presented himself as a deserter, considering "that the declarations and documents produced did not make it possible to establish that the applicant had been mobilized in the context of the war"