French foreign minister accuses Elon Musk of online harassment against European leaders
Speaking at an OECD conference on Tuesday, 13 October, Jean-Noël Barrot also warned that foreign actors are trying to destabilise France before its 2027 presidential election.
Barrot's accusation at the OECD
France's foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, spoke at a conference of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Tuesday, 13 October, and singled out Elon Musk. He said the owner of the X platform was running organised campaigns of online harassment against European leaders, using the reach of his service to shape public debate. Barrot pointed to the speed and virality of posts on the platform as the means Musk uses to influence politics in Europe. Musk did not respond to a request for comment. Barrot's wording was direct:
There are massive online harassment campaigns launched by Elon Musk against European leaders, in order to influence debates by exploiting the virality of his social media platform.
Foreign interference before the 2027 election
Barrot tied these threats to the presidential election scheduled for 2027, arguing that outside forces are trying to exploit divisions inside France. He named immigration, secularism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as issues that foreign actors use to stoke hatred and tensions. He framed the stakes in broad terms:
The forces seeking to undermine democracy now dominate the information landscape, where they employ tactics designed to polarise public debate.
Among the other examples he gave was an unnamed Israeli company accused of creating fake French social media accounts to shape opinion on the war in Gaza. He also cited accusations that Azerbaijan stirred up tensions during deadly riots in New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far right, is the frontrunner in the polls for 2027. Barrot warned about movements with authoritarian aims, saying:
Their ultimate goal is clear: to seize power and then create the conditions to never relinquish it.
Protests and external narratives
Barrot also referred to protests in France in which schoolchildren, students and trade unionists blockaded schools and marched through cities. He said those demonstrations had been exploited by hostile narratives from Russia, China and Iran, as well as by narratives associated with the Maga movement in the United States. Elon Musk and US president Donald Trump had weighed in on the protests in France in the week of 5 October. The accusations against Musk therefore came amid a dispute that already involved the two men.