Europe Furious at Musk's Political Interference... "Behind International Reactionary Movement" Retaliation

Macron, Starmer, Scholz and Other European Leaders Criticize in Unison

Leaders of major European countries have collectively pushed back against Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, over his blatant political interference, including support for far-right parties.

French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Musk's actions during a speech at the ?lys?e Palace on the 6th (local time), saying, "Who could have imagined just 10 years ago that the owner of one of the world's largest social networking services (SNS) would support a new international reactionary movement and directly intervene in elections, including in Germany?"

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In response, Musk fired back on his X (formerly Twitter), asking, "Are you talking about Starmer calling Trump a racist and sending British Labour Party members to the U.S. to stop his election?" He was referring to the controversy during last year's U.S. presidential election when Labour Party officials, led by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, attended the Democratic National Convention, sparking allegations of election interference.

Recently, Musk's expression of support for far-right parties in major European countries has heightened vigilance within mainstream European politics. On the 2nd, Musk used X to claim that Starmer, while serving as Director of Public Prosecutions (CPS), covered up a child sexual exploitation case and called for his resignation. He also urged the release of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, causing discord with the UK Reform Party, with whom he had previously displayed a bromance.

At a press conference that day, Prime Minister Starmer criticized Musk's claims as "crossing the line," stating, "People who spread lies and misinformation do not care about victims." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, troubled by Musk's support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), also remarked, "(Musk's actions) are nothing new, and we must remain calm," adding, "Don't feed the trolls (people who deliberately provoke to get attention)."

The European Union (EU) is also closely monitoring Musk's actions. Thomas R?nier, spokesperson for technological sovereignty at the European Commission, said they plan to thoroughly investigate whether the upcoming live-streamed conversation on the 9th between Musk and the AfD party leader on X violates election fairness. He emphasized that under the Digital Services Act (DSA), European X users must be guaranteed the right not to see certain content.

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U.S. political media outlet Politico noted that while President Macron showed discomfort with Musk's behavior, he refrained from directly naming him, seemingly mindful of relations with the Trump administration. Musk, meanwhile, has openly clashed with the German and UK governments but has yet to provoke the French political sphere. Politico analyzed this as due to the ideology of France's far-right National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, not aligning with Musk's pursuit of liberal economic ideals.

Previously, after winning the election in December last year, former President Trump attended the Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening ceremony in Paris with Musk as his first overseas engagement. During that event, President Macron reaffirmed his willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration and is reportedly planning to invite both men to the upcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) summit in Paris next month.