French President Macron revealed as active Telegram user, media outlets say

Macron has been a Telegram user since the early days of his first presidential campaign. Nearly a decade later, the app remains widely used by both cabinet members and political officials of all ranks and parties, particularly within pro-Macron circles, according to Report, which cites Politico.

On Monday, while Telegram founder Pavel Durov was in French police custody, Macron was shown as having been connected to the messaging platform “recently,” a former MP with the French president's number showed Politico on their phone.

Eric Bothorel, a Renaissance parliamentarian who focuses on cyber-related issues, acknowledged the “persistent use of Telegram despite more or less legitimate warnings.”

Bothorel described Telegram's protection levels as “not the best, but not the worst,” while underlining that Olvid, a French encrypted messaging platform which the prime minister had asked cabinet members to use in lieu of Telegram, “offered more guarantees.”