For the past week, the French residing in Russia have been observing the conflict which is taking hold in Ukraine and the sanctions which are multiplying against their adopted country.
On Thursday, Paris strongly recommended that its nationals leave Russia.
But for all Internet users who testified to
20 Minutes
, there is no question of it at the moment.
David, Marie, Alain and François explain to us why they hope to be able to stay and how they see the sequence of events.
“We risk being able to survive”, summarizes David, a Frenchman living in Penza, a city 640 km east of Moscow.
A sentence that sums up the mixture of concern and optimism of this quadra living in Russia for ten years.
In a relationship for nineteen years with a Russian woman, father of two daughters who have dual nationality, he considers a return to France only as a last option.
If France recommended Thursday morning to all expatriates in Russia to pack up, knowing that there are no longer any flights, none of the Internet users who confided in
20 Minutes
has planned to leave their country of adoption.
"It's my turn to give them back what they gave me"
David does not follow less attentively each speech of Emmanuel Macron.
Because he is not married to his partner, who therefore does not have French nationality.
He therefore fears that the French president will announce the end of visas for Russians.
Because Russia would risk retorting in the same way.
David has a permanent work and family visa without limit, called “RVP”.
"But it's still a visa, so it can be removed," he breathes.
Especially since there was a precedent for him.
“During the first confinement, in March 2020, Russia closed the borders to “RVP”, they made an amalgam.
David was then in France, stuck.
Russian authorities lifted the ban in just two weeks.
But then there was no more plane.
“I had to spend three months in France.
I cycled across the Finnish border to return home in June.
So David developed reflexes.
“All this nonsense, I relive them today with what is happening.
Almost naturally, I said to myself that [if we had to leave], we would go through Dubai or Ankara to return to France.
Because David was far-sighted: he kept a foothold in the Parisian suburbs.
"But let's be realistic, to travel to France with 4, you need between 5,000 and 6,000 euros... It's extremely complex to say: 'I'm leaving and I'm leaving everything.'
»
About 5,000 expats present on site
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a base outside of Russia.
“Coming to France would be like living on the street with my 4 children.
I have no job, no accommodation,” sums up Marie, 35, a French teacher near Krasnoe Selo, south of Saint Petersburg, in a relationship with a Russian.
Contacted by
20 Minutes
, the Quai d'Orsay indicates that "currently, there are approximately 5,000 French residents in Russia".
Like Alain, 54, who has lived in Russia for twenty years.
“I have no plans to leave Russia unless I have to for administrative reasons.
And I consider that my wife, who is Russian, would not be safe in France in the current climate of paranoia and Russophobia.
For Francis too, his country of heart is Russia.
“My life is here, explains this fifty-something married to a Russian.
My business is prospering here, and it is out of the question to let down the Russian people who have given me so much for all the years when they need solidarity.
It's my turn to give them back what they gave me.
Contrary to what I see in France, here people are not aggressive towards foreigners.
»
"All my projects being between these two worlds, for me, it's over"
Some, however, wonder how to make ends meet.
David's Russian partner runs a hotline company with 500 employees, he takes care of the marketing and trade side and traveled a lot in Europe.
"All my projects being between these two worlds, for me it's over," he admits.
For the company, we have 60% of the turnover made with foreign companies, but on the local market.
Our business should not be too impacted.
As for many other French people.
Which does not seem to be the case with the Germans.
"Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, clearly said: 'I am sending 1,400 rocket launchers to Ukraine.'
It is a betrayal for the Russian power.
Moreover, David went around the stores near his home this Friday morning: if Decathlon and Leroy-Merlin do not have empty shelves,
BMW has closed.
He also saw German friends leaving the country overnight, fearing for their future.
“Let's be clear, there is no physical repression or insecurity.
»
Sanctions, “for the moment, it's transparent!
»
The war in Ukraine seems to have a greater impact on Russian morale than on their pocketbooks.
"For the past week, people have been rather sad," notes Marie.
Many have family, friends and acquaintances in Ukraine.
»
But on the practical side, there is no shortage.
“The sanctions are felt on import products, but after the sanctions of 2014 [following the annexation of Crimea], Russia financed companies and helped SMEs to produce Russian products, resumes- she.
Many things that were imported in 2014 are now produced domestically.
The sanctions may be strong, but on the average basket of the Russian, it does not feel too much.
»
"In three shops, apart from dog food, the price of which has doubled, for the moment, it's transparent! Adds David.
The price of 1 kg of potatoes is the same.
But we are only on the 8th day of conflict!
“He recognizes all the same a” race for household appliances.
The middle class anticipated certain equipment purchases, before it was too expensive.
I know a person who bought two washing machines.
Another bought a second car…” What reassures him is that Russia is relatively autonomous… “Not on the industry, it's true.
But we have the bare minimum: electricity, oil, food.
»
Prices are still likely to soar if the war lasts.
So David imagines the D system that Russians are used to.
At least a part.
“I explained to my 10-year-old daughter that given what is coming, we risk returning to a barter economy.
She asked me: "What is it?"
".
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How do Russians perceive this war, according to expatriates?
According to our French Internet users, who have Russian friends or family, the Russians are far from turning away from their leader.
“At present, for a large majority of Russians, it is one conflict among many others in Russia, David continues.
The Russians are a proud people, fighters and followers of the law of retaliation.
The vast majority are pro-Putin.
And three quarters don't realize
of what is happening.
No media say that the troops went further than Donbass.
Similarly, the severity of the conflict is not shown.
Moreover, it is not shown as a conflict, but as a liberation.
»
Hence a misunderstanding vis-à-vis the Europeans.
"People here are quite shocked: they don't understand why Putin's regime is so decried in Europe," adds Marie.
They have the feeling that Europe wants to save them from misery, whereas the population is proud and feels insulted when it hears this.
There is a highly developed social system in Russia (doctor, dentist, free hospitalization, free school, etc.).
The wages are not high, but the prices are not the same.
»
Emmanuel Macron
Vladimir Poutine
War in Ukraine
French from abroad
Russia
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