The French government has criticized Russia’s presidential elections which saw President Vladimir Putin emerge as the overwhelming winner, labelling the vote as yet another in the country held under fraught conditions. “The conditions for a free, pluralistic and democratic election have once again not been met,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday. The Russian elections, held from Friday to Sunday, had taken place in the context of increased oppression of civilian society as well as any form of opposition, it continued. The ministry hails the courage of the many Russian c…