France continues to deny Russian ship “Standart” entry into its ports

The Russian ship “Standart” was banned from entering the ports of the French department of Ile-de-Vilaine, in particular the largest one – Saint-Malo.

Despite this, other regions are still ignoring the relevant EU sanctions, said Bernard Groua, spokesman for the group No Shtandart In Europe, in a comment to Ukrinform.

Groua noted that in the ports of Ile-de-Vilaine the ship is “undesirable” and will not enter the ports, as it did last summer. The prefectural government stated that it respects the sanctions imposed by the European Union and will adhere to its own decree banning it, issued in 2024.

Activists previously also addressed a similar appeal to the prefecture of Primorsky Charente, since the Russian sailboat was heading to the port of La Rochelle. However, they ignored the appeal, so the ship from the Russian Federation was even able to take part in the naval parade.

“This time, the Standard is no longer limited to France, Spain or even the EU. This illustrates the captain’s sense of impunity, his confidence in his influence and his contempt for our institutions. It also shows that our countries can put an end to the fraud that has been going on for more than three years only if they follow Spain’s example – that is, by means of a coordinated ban on its presence in all their territorial waters,” Grua concluded.

The Standard is a three-masted frigate, which is a replica of a ship that belonged to the Russian Tsar Peter I. The ship was built in 1999. Until June 2024, the frigate sailed under the Russian flag, until it changed it to the Cook Islands flag. Russia also constantly promotes the sailboat at European maritime festivals.

Earlier, USM reported that the Russian frigate “Standard” was traditionally not allowed into a French port.