French right-wing distances itself from Elon Musk

The support of Elon Musk, the world's first billionaire, was not met with much enthusiasm by the National Rally, the largest right-wing party in France, writes "Politiko".

After Musk called presidential candidate Marine Le Pen "France's last hope" on Network X, her party allies rushed to downplay his message, stressing that foreign support is not something they seek or can influence.

Laurent Jacobelli, a spokesman and MP for the National Rally, told public radio yesterday that he agreed with Musk's statement, but that the party was not seeking support from abroad. The National Rally has taken a similar stance towards Trump, keeping him at a distance and refusing support from Washington despite their ideological closeness. "The opinion of people from abroad is not important," Jacobelli said. "The opinion of the French is important."

The owner of Network X and the companies SpaceX and Tesla has regularly interfered in European politics in recent years and provided support to right-wing and far-right groups that oppose immigration, including the AfD in Germany and far-right provocateur Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, in the UK.

National Rally MEP Fabrice Leggeri added: “There is no reason to seek partnerships with foreign business leaders, especially those outside Europe.”

Musk's announcement immediately sparked accusations of foreign interference in French politics, as well as concerns about how he could use his social network to influence the election campaign.

"Musk has every right to speak out. That is not in dispute. However, we must ensure that the tools at his disposal do not distort the public debate in France in favor of one candidate or another," said Pascal Confavre, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry.

Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who has clashed with Musk repeatedly over the EU’s attempts to enforce social media regulations, made a similar point on X: “Elon Musk supports Marine Le Pen. That’s his right. It’s now up to the authorities to ensure that X’s algorithm in Europe does not favor any candidate.”