As Ukraine decides who will be its next president, France — one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters on the international stage — is not only keeping a close eye on developments in the country, but is better informed about Ukraine than ever before.
Up to the EuroMaidan Revolution, which ended President Viktor Yanukovych’s rule in 2014, the French public didn’t pay close attention to Ukraine. This is despite the fact that Ukraine is the biggest European nation by landmass, 603,628 square kilometers in area, and also the sixth biggest European country by population, with 42 million people. Aside from the 1986 Chornobyl disaster — which is now fading from the public’s memory — French people did not know much about Ukraine. But much has changed since 2014.
Media coverage
A quick look at two of France’s most famous and international newspapers — Le Monde and Le Figaro — is revealing.
In Le Monde’s database for instance, from the moment of Ukraine’s independence in August 1991 until October 2013, right before the EuroMaidan Revolution — Ukraine appears 1,116 times in the newspaper’s headlines. From October 2013, the start of the EuroMaidan protests, to today it is mentioned 1,216 times.
In Le Figaro’s database, Ukraine appears in the text only 338 times in the pre-EuroMaidan period, but 1,850 times after EuroMaidan.
Statistics
The French Institute of Public Opinions published a study entitled “French People’s View of Ukraine” in December 2018, in which it questioned more than 1,000 people regarding their perception and attitudes to Ukraine.
Three themes were addressed: “The image of Ukraine and of its current political regime,” “the country responsible for tensions between Ukraine and Russia,” and “the annexation of Crimea by Russia.”
In response to the first question, 60 percent said they had a positive opinion of the country, but only 45 percent looked at the current regime favorably.
The data is divided by party affiliation, with all parties having a positive perception, apart from the populist far-right party of Marine Le Pen, Le Rassemblement National, where 52 percent of the members perceived Ukraine negatively, and 55 percent were against the current regime.
Le Rassemblement National’s response is not surprising, considering that the party is supportive of, and is supported by, the Kremlin, and opposes the sanctions against Moscow. The party received a loan worth 9.4 million euros from the First Czech-Russian Bank in 2014.
The study also revealed that the younger the people are, the less positive they are about Ukraine — 58 percent of people between 18 and 24 years old responded positively of Ukraine, whereas 66 percent of those who were 65 years of age or higher were more favorable.
In total, 43 percent of the people questioned considered Russia to be responsible for the current conflict, 35 percent considered it to be equally the fault of each country, and 5 percent considered Ukraine to be at fault. 22 percent considered the annexation of Crimea to be justified, against 78 percent who said it was unjustified.
50–50
French journalist Sébastien Gobert — a local correspondent of Radio France International — arrived in Ukraine in 2011 and has been covering the country for various media.
Gobert explained how for a long time Ukraine was perceived as a “small Russia,” or even a “mistake of history.”
There is, however, “a new perception of Ukraine as an independent country that has asserted itself through the revolution and the war.”
But is this percention positive or negative?
“50–50,” Gobert says.
“Due to the information warfare that has been waged since 2013, there has been a crystallization of thoughts,” which has clearly divided the audience between those who see Ukraine as a fascist and corrupt state that should simply be “colonized by Russia,” and those who wish to “give Ukraine a real chance” and believe in its “potential and dynamism.”
Gobert also noted that Ukraine has become one of Europe’s capitals for the video-making industry, both music videos and ads, which is a major success for a country seeking positive attention.
Orelsan, Damso, Gringe, and Stromae — all famous French-speaking rappers — have filmed some of their latest music videos in Ukraine.
Orelsan’s music video “Basique” was mainly filmed on the Podilsko-Voskresensky bridge and won the French award for best music video of the year in 2018.
Cycles
But despite Ukraine’s overall increased international attention, Ukraine is still prone to cyclical coverage — news that covers a region only if something unusual happens of international importance.
This is why on the international scale Ukraine still competes with the migrant crisis, Brexit, or the upcoming European elections.
Right now Ukraine is “in the cycle” because of its presidential elections. From television to newspapers, every French news source has dedicated several reports to Ukraine during the first round of the presidential election. It will do it again for the second round.
This is a drastic change compared to the pre-EuroMaidan period. Before, coverage of Ukraine used to be done by correspondents permanently based in neighboring countries like Russia. Today, major news outlets have their own correspondents based in Ukraine.
These journalists are consequently more knowledgeable about the country and understand its various nuances, which contributes to the accuracy of the reports and is doing much to improve the French public’s knowledge about the country.
