France has today asked the Russian Federation to reverse the decision to place under temporary control assets of European companies such as the French Auchan, with Moscow justifying the measure by the military support of the countries concerned to Ukraine.
© Shutterstock
18/09/2026
by
Lusa
Ofrench Ministries of Economy and Foreign Affairs consider the Russian measure unjustified.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Thursday a decree authorising the Russian company L.E.V. Management to temporarily take control of the assets of Swiss Nestlé and the Russian subsidiary of Auchan.
A similar measure was adopted on the shares of the Le Monlid chain of stores, which previously operated in Russian territory under the brand Leroy Merlin.
The spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitri Peskov, said that the decision affects companies from countries that the Russian Federation considers “unfriendly”.
Among the factors considered, it has detailed, are the support of the States concerned for Ukraine and its alleged involvement in attacks on Russian critical civil infrastructure.
Peskov stressed that, for the time being, it is only the “establishment of temporary control” of the assets, stressing that no other decisions were taken on their possible transfer or sale to the company responsible for managing them.
L.E.V. Management was registered in Moscow in October 2024 as a company dedicated to commercial and management consulting.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Russian leaders have determined the temporary state management of several foreign companies that have abandoned the Russian market or whose countries of origin have imposed sanctions on Moscow.