French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot accused billionaire Elon Musk of orchestrating online harassment campaigns against European leaders Tuesday, warning that foreign interference could threaten France's 2027 presidential election.
Barrot said foreign actors were exploiting political and social divisions to influence public debate ahead of the April-May vote, raising concerns about coordinated disinformation campaigns targeting European democracies.
Speaking at a conference organized by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Barrot warned that opponents of democracy would seek to destabilize France during the election period.
He said foreign actors were exploiting contentious issues, including immigration, secularism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to fuel polarization and social tensions.
Barrot also accused an unidentified Israeli company of creating fake French social media accounts to influence online discussions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The minister singled out Musk, the owner of social media platform X, accusing him of conducting widespread online harassment campaigns against European leaders to shape domestic political debates.
He said Musk's activities exploited the platform's ability to rapidly amplify politically charged content.
Barrot's remarks came amid weeks of protests by French high school students over their conditions, which he said had been accompanied by hostile online narratives originating from Russia, China, Iran and supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
Trump weighed in on the situation last week, claiming on his Truth Social platform that France was experiencing what he described as uncontrolled mass migration.
Musk subsequently echoed those concerns in a post to his 241.5 million followers on X, describing immigration as a gradual invasion and accusing those supporting it of betraying their countries.
Barrot pledged that France would respond firmly to attempts to influence its domestic affairs.
"We do not tolerate any foreign interference, from wherever it may come. It is a matter of sovereignty," he said.
The warnings come as France prepares for a closely watched presidential election in which far-right politician Marine Le Pen is expected to remain a major political force, although her eligibility to run remains a separate legal question.
Concerns about foreign interference have also intensified elsewhere in Europe.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that Russia had interfered in the United Kingdom's 2016 Brexit referendum, which resulted in the country's decision to leave the European Union.