Elon Musk backs Marine Le Pen as 'France's last hope' ahead of 2027 race
Elon Musk publicly endorsed French far-right candidate Marine Le Pen for the 2027 presidential election, calling her 'France's last hope' in a post to his 240 million X followers, drawing sharp criticism from Paris over foreign influence in the campaign.
The endorsement
Elon Musk, the owner of X, on Wednesday publicly endorsed far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, calling her "France's last hope" in a post shared with his 240 million followers. The message was a reply to a tweet that claimed Le Pen is polling at 36%, far ahead of her nearest rival at 16%, and that "France will expel millions of people." This marks Musk's first explicit backing of Le Pen since she formally launched her fourth bid for the presidency last week.
She is France's last hope.
French government backlash
The endorsement prompted swift reactions from French officials. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot urged Musk to reconsider, citing a French saying: "Only fools never change their minds." Meanwhile, former French minister and ex-European Commissioner Thierry Breton called it the start of the "political interference season" and demanded that EU authorities verify that X's algorithm does not advantage any candidate in Europe.
The season of political interference begins. Musk backs Le Pen. Now it is up to European authorities to ensure that X's algorithm in Europe does not favour any candidate.
Only fools never change their minds.
Le Pen's path back to the race
Le Pen's campaign launch came hours after an appeals court reduced her ineligibility sentence from five years to 15 months (already served) for embezzling European Parliament funds. She is still appealing the conviction to the Court of Cassation. Polls from the Elabe institute show her leading the first round with 34 to 35.5% of voting intentions, and she is considered the favourite in any second-round scenario. The runoff of the election is set for May 2, 2027.
- Marine Le Pen
- 36 %
- Nearest competitor
- 16 %
A pattern of far-right support
Musk has previously aligned himself with Donald Trump and has openly supported Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Romanian ultranationalist candidate Călin Georgescu. Last year, he echoed Trump's characterisation of Le Pen's trial as a "witch hunt" and posted "Free Le Pen!". His latest intervention, however, comes with the power of X's algorithmic reach and raises concerns about foreign influence in the French election.
- First-instance conviction for embezzlement, 5-year ineligibility
- Appeals court reduces ineligibility to 15 months, clearing her to run
- Le Pen launches fourth presidential campaign
- Elon Musk endorses Le Pen on X
