France’s Macron says giving Telegram chief citizenship was ‘good’ for country

Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov, centre, smiles following his meeting with Indonesian Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2017 (Tatan Syuflana/AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his decision to give special fast-track citizenship to Telegram messaging app chief executive Pavel Durov, who is now under preliminary charges in France over alleged criminal activity on his popular platform.

Mr Macron also said he was unaware that Durov was coming to France before his surprise weekend arrest, and had no plans to meet with him.