Russia accused French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron's campaign team of discriminating against its media on Thursday, saying it had trampled on the freedom of the press by banning Russian news outlets from its events.
In Paris, a Macron spokesman confirmed that the Russian state-funded Sputnik news agency and RT TV channel had been barred from having media access to him, describing them as a "two-headed entity" that issued Russian state propaganda and fake news.
Macron, a pro-European Union ex-banker and centrist, is widely seen as favorite to win the French presidency on May 7 by beating far right leader Marine Le Pen.
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