PARIS — Emmanuel Macron took a not-so-thinly veiled swipe at Elon Musk on Monday, accusing him of meddling in European politics and backing what the French president called a “reactionary movement” across the world.
While Macron did not name the controversial tech billionaire in his annual speech to French ambassadors gathered in Paris, the description was unmistakable.
“Ten years ago, who could have imagined it if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections, including in Germany,” Macron said in a wide-ranging foreign policy speech at the Elysée Palace.
Macron’s comments, however, did not go as far as those of Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who said Monday he found it “worrying” that Musk, “a man with enormous access to social media” would be so “directly involved” in the politics of other nations.
Musk is facing mainstream political backlash in Europe after wading into domestic politics in Germany and the United Kingdom. He came out in support of the far-right Alternative for Germany ahead of a snap legislative election in the country next month, which the government in Berlin and various political leaders argued amounted to election interference. Musk has also sparred with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and, in a surprising move, urged Nigel Farage to stand aside as leader of the right-wing Reform UK party.
Musk has yet to weigh in on French politics, and it’s unclear if he will offer the French far right the same sort of support as he has for similar movements in Europe — especially given that his more economically liberal views appear to clash with the those espoused by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
Musk and Macron have enjoyed cordial relations in the past. The Tesla, SpaceX and X boss joined United States President-elect Donald Trump at last months’ reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Last week, Musk donated 100 Starlink terminals to the cyclone-ravaged French territory of Mayotte.
Macron has invited Musk and Trump back to Paris next month for a highly anticipated summit on artificial intelligence. The president-elect and his French counterpart enjoyed a good relationship during Trump’s first term, which Macron has been trying to rekindle. Macron was one of the first Western leaders to congratulate the U.S. president-elect on his election victory in November.
During his address at the Elysée, Macron said he would readily work with the incoming U.S. administration, despite fears over an impending trade war and the future of the war in Ukraine.
“We’ve been able to work with Trump, we know what the disagreements are, such as on climate change,” he said, noting that Trump knows France is “a solid ally.”
But he also added that if Europe is “weak and defeatist,” there’s “little chance of earning respect.”
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