Europe 1 with AFP 10:51 p.m., August 8, 2022

An internal directive issued by the Ministry of the Armed Forces following the invasion of Ukraine prohibits Russian nationals from visiting the Château de Vincennes in Val-de-Marne, which also houses the ministry's archives.

"Requests relating to journalistic functions" can, however, still be made.

Russian nationals can no longer visit the Château de Vincennes in the Val-de-Marne, which also houses the archives of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, since an internal directive issued following the invasion of Ukraine, learned on Monday AFP from concordant sources.

The Château de Vincennes, located south-east of Paris, notably contains one of the centers of the Service Historique de la Défense (SHD), whose libraries and archives are accessible to the public under certain conditions.

Two Russian women banned from entering

On July 30, two Russian women were refused entry.

"A guard at the metal detector asked to see my passport," one of the two young women, 31, told AFP.

The guard then refused him access.

Confused, this Russian tried again to enter, talking with another guard.

But it also does not allow him to enter.

Asking them about their refusal, the guards finally let go: "Because you are Russians," she told AFP.

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"I was upset," says the young woman, a journalist by profession, who fled Russia "because of the war" and arrived in France "five months" ago.

Questioned by AFP, the Ministry of the Armed Forces explained that it had, "following the invasion of Ukraine", "restricted access to the military premises of the ministry to Russian nationals".

He stressed, however, that "requests relating to journalistic functions" could be made.