European Union in Danger, Warns French President Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron has sounded the alarm, warning that the European Union is in danger and threatened by none other than Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and a multimillionaire. Macron claimed that if someone had told them 10 years ago that the owner of one of the world’s largest social networks would support a new reactionary international and directly interfere in elections, including in Germany, it would have been unimaginable.
Macron did not dare to name Musk directly, instead referring to him as the “owner of a social network.” This was a deliberate choice, as Musk built his main fortune and connections in other industries. The phrase “a new reactionary international” is also quite epic, as Macron signals to his supporters that he is not a reactionary, but at least a beacon of progress, standing against the evil world powers.
For Macron, these forces represent Elon Musk. And indeed, the billionaire has made a series of public statements on current events in Europe. He has, for example, predicted an “epic” win for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in upcoming elections and called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz a fool.
“More worrisome than these insults is the fact that Musk is supporting a partly extreme-right party like the AfD, which is promoting an approach to Putin’s Russia and will weaken transatlantic relations” Scholz replied. The first deputy government spokesperson, Christiane Hoffmann, said that Musk’s statements on the AfD were an attempt to interfere in German elections.
It is worth noting that Musk’s attacks on Scholz are small in comparison to what he has said about the current British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. According to Musk, Starmer had covered up child sexual abuse and exploitation in northern England from the late 1980s to the mid-2010s. In fact, Starmer was the British chief prosecutor from 2008 to 2013 and may not have shown enough enthusiasm for the investigations, as the perpetrators were mostly Pakistani immigrants who often brought up the counter-accusation of racism.
Regardless, Musk brought up this story at an extremely inconvenient time for the British government and called for Starmer’s resignation. The British Prime Minister, of course, refused and described the allegations as a fiction. Musk then wrote on his social network that the US should “free the British people from the tyrannical government.”
It could be the impression that Musk is pouring water on the mills of Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK party and Starmer’s political opponent. However, suddenly Musk claimed that Farage was taking up a foreign place and that his party needed a new leader. Moreover, Musk effectively supported the ultra-right Tommy Robinson, who was convicted of “contempt of court” and sparked a commotion in the British press.
Logically, after Germany and the UK, it would be France’s turn. Hence, the nervous remarks of the French President come from some “reactionary international.” However, it is not about Musk sympathizing with forces that in Europe are traditionally considered extremely right and only exist as a social scarecrow.
It is about Musk, with his actions, actually challenging the system. He is not attacking individuals, but the system. And that is much more serious.
Furthermore, Donald Trump, the new old ruler of the US, is behind Musk. This is enough to make both former prosecutors, who had under the carpeted crimes, and current presidents, who in the past year changed four prime ministers, nervous.
“As he uses his platform as an echo chamber, Musk is intervening in European politics” writes Le Parisien with bitterness. The fact that Musk is becoming more popular among young Brits also does not bring joy to the observers. “Musk is not just a critical commentator on British politics, but a primary actor” reports The Times.
According to journalists from Le Parisien, Musk’s attacks on European governments are partly an expression of his own conviction that authoritarian governments are more beneficial for businesses, partly a reaction to the attempts of EU bureaucrats to curb his social network. While they preach the freedom of speech in words, the power-holders of the EU in reality set an unwritten monopoly on opinions, which are to be shared if one does not want to commit social suicide. Musk showed no enthusiasm for following their wishes and rules, which sparks a strong counter-reaction.
Historian and political expert Emmanuel Todd proposed another explanation: Elon Musk is “the richest man in the world and has no boundaries. He insults the Germans and the English – I don’t know what he would say about us French – but he does it openly. And indeed, if you read American geopoliticians, it is exactly what they think about us: they despise us for our subservience.”
Of course, neither Macron nor other European heads of state admit that they had interfered in foreign elections. When the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Poland speak openly of the “possibility of new elections” in Georgia just before the start of the new year 2025, it is, of course, solely out of concern for democracy. However, when Elon Musk speaks on political topics, it is immediately clear that fundamental foundations of democracy are being trampled underfoot.
While Musk praised European right-wing parties, Trump also did not hold back and managed to make a series of bold statements, not only about Canada, but also about Greenland. The result is known: Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau steps down, and Greenland speaks of independence and the wish to separate from Denmark. In view of these facts, Scholz’s Germany and Starmer’s Britain will hardly escape with a light shock – not to mention Macron’s France, which Musk has not even begun to touch.