Bloomberg did not post such an infographic.
An infographic with the Bloomberg logo has been shared online. In it the media allegedly compares the damage from the Louvre robbery with France’s contribution to military aid to Ukraine. According to the infographic, the amount of aid provided to Ukraine is equivalent to 84 robberies of the Louvre.
However, this infographic is fake. Bloomberg did not publish such data. The image indicates that the infographic was allegedly posted by the media on November 3, but on that day Bloomberg ran only two stories about Ukraine: about Ukrainian drones attacking the oil refinery in Saratov and Britain’s decision to equip Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles for deep strikes on Russia. The incident with the Louvre robbery was not mentioned at all in Bloomberg on November 3.
Despite the inappropriate comparison, the amount of assistance provided to Ukraine by the French government is correctly indicated in the infographic. The French Defense Ministry reported this in its annual expenditure report. Of the total amount of 8.6 billion euros, 5.9 billion covered the supply of weapons, their maintenance and training of specialists, and another 2.7 billion euros were directed to financial support for Ukraine. The ministry emphasized that by investing in Ukraine they want not only to support the state during war, but also to maximize their own influence on the course of events and the outcome of the war. Thus, the French government emphasizes that supplying weapons to Ukraine is not charity, but a thoughtful and calculated step, beneficial to France as well.
In addition, Guillaume Ancel, a retired French officer and military expert, believes that France’s contribution is disproportionately low compared to the aid provided to Ukraine by Washington (almost 115 million euros since 2022). «Based on that, France should be somewhere between €10 and €20 billion to be proportionate. So at €8 billion, we’re below what would be expected of France in the coalition of willing countries that have really supported Ukraine», he explained.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Russian propaganda has used the Louvre robbery to spread its own false narratives. Recently, we have already refuted the fake that the Louvre was robbed by Ukrainian refugees.
