Georgia approves 'foreign agents' bill despite mass protests: Back to Russia's orbit? • FRANCE 24

Another showdown in the country that launched the so-called coloured revolutions. Georgia’s parliament has shrugged off some of the biggest protests in its post-Soviet history by approving a “foreign agents” bill that mirrors legislation in neighbouring Russia. The opposition argues it is the way for the government to curb media freedom and dissent in a country which only recently graduated to EU candidate status. Is Tbilisi returning to Russia’s orbit? Or did that already happen when oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgia Dream party won a supermajority back in 2020? That supermajority is now slated to override a presidential veto on what the opposition calls the “Russian law”. Then what?  Ahead of elections later this year, we take a look at what lessons other former Soviet states, like Armenia, Kazakhstan and of course Ukraine - which just 10 years ago was still evenly split between pro-Moscow and pro-EU citizens – can draw from the developments. Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Guillaume Gougeon and Imen Mellaz.  #Georgia #Russia #EU Read more about this story in our article: https://f24.my/AKia.y ? Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen ? LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN ? Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/ Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen Follow us on X (Twitter): https://f24.my/Xen Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen