France's foreign minister on Tuesday accused billionaire Elon Musk, owner of the X social media platform, of orchestrating "online harassment campaigns" against European leaders, as he warned of foreign interference threats ahead of the country's 2027 presidential election.
Jean-Noël Barrot made the accusation during a conference held by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He cautioned that as the April-May election approaches—in which far-right candidate Marine Le Pen has her strongest chance yet of winning the presidency—"the enemies of democracy will do everything to destabilize us."
Barrot said that external actors exploit divisions within European societies and weaponize sensitive issues to fuel discord. "They exploit our divisions and exploit issues such as immigration, secularism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to stoke hatred and tension," he stated.
The minister identified an Israeli company, whose name he did not disclose, as having created fake French social media accounts to post content about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He did not provide further details about the company's operations or the scope of its activity.
Barrot also singled out Musk's use of X to conduct what he characterized as broad-based harassment campaigns targeting European leaders, citing the platform's capacity to shape national debates. The minister said France would respond to such actions.
Musk had commented the previous week on school protests in France, according to sources, attempting to frame them through the lens of mass migration.
Barrot emphasized that social media has become central to global struggles over democracy, with forces seeking to undermine democratic systems now dominating the information landscape through tactics designed to destabilize countries.