Jérôme Rivière is a French politician and entrepreneur. He served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2019 to 2024. He was a member of the National Rally (RN), from 2017 until 2022 when he announced his backing for Éric Zemmour in the 2022 presidential election. He was designated vice chairman of Zemmour’s newly-founded Reconquête party.
According to experts, several MEPs who supported Russia in their votes in 2019-2021 have reconsidered their approach following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s not that they now back anti-war documents but opt to abstain or disregard sessions altogether.
One of them is Jérôme Rivière, who has also modified his modus operandi. In pre-war times, just like MEP Georgiou, he did not endorse any Russia-related resolutions. In 2022, however, his voting records indicate many abstentions or refusals to attend EP sessions. Frenchmen Gilbert Collard, Jean-Paul Garraud, and Greek Ioannis Lagos also adjusted their voting tactics along with several other MEPs, including Tatjana Ždanoka (Latvian Russian Union). Jérôme Rivière supported a few resolutions but often skipped the sessions where documents criticising the Kremlin were voted on.
A special committee of the European Parliament unleashed a report describing the Kremlin’s tactics of interfering with democratic processes in the EU after Russia invaded Ukraine. One of the marks of the Kremlin’s efforts is the European Parliament. This is where MEPs dedicated to Moscow can both publicly operate from pro-Russian positions at sessions and lobby the Kremlin’s interests on the sidelines.
