Musk endorses Le Pen as 'France's last hope', drawing accusations of foreign interference

The endorsement

On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, Elon Musk publicly backed Marine Le Pen's bid for the French presidency, writing on his social media platform X that she is "France's last hope." He reposted a message from another user that cited polling figures: Le Pen at 36 percent, her nearest rival at 16 percent, compared with 27 percent for Emmanuel Macron and 23 percent for Le Pen ahead of the 2022 election. The post marked a shift from Musk's earlier, more guarded support for the far-right leader, which had been limited to expressions of solidarity during her embezzlement trial.

French government and lawmaker reactions

The endorsement drew an immediate rebuke from French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who replied on X: "Like we say in French: only fools don't change their minds."

Like we say in French: only fools don't change their minds.

Hard-left MP Antoine Léaument of France Unbowed called the post "foreign interference, which has begun for the presidential election" and urged Arcom, the independent communications regulator, to examine the matter. Former EU commissioner Thierry Breton said the French government must ensure that "X's algorithms in Europe do not favour any candidate." A foreign ministry spokesperson, Pascal Confavreux, acknowledged Musk's right to an opinion but stressed the need to prevent his tools from tilting the electoral debate.

National Rally keeps its distance

National Rally officials moved quickly to downplay the endorsement. Spokesperson and lawmaker Laurent Jacobelli told public radio that while he agrees with Musk's assessment, "what matters is not the opinion of people abroad, but the opinion of the French." He insisted the party "did not ask for" the support and noted that Marine Le Pen had long kept her distance from Donald Trump, despite ideological affinities. MEP Thierry Mariani, who nominated Musk for the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in 2023, also said the party had not solicited the recommendation.

What matters is not the opinion of people abroad, but the opinion of the French.

A pattern of European interventions

Musk's post is the latest in a series of interventions in European politics. In December 2024 he called Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) the only force capable of "saving Germany," a move that then-CDU leader Friedrich Merz described as unprecedented interference in a friendly country's campaign. Musk has also backed Nigel Farage's Reform UK, labelled Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez a "tyrant and traitor," and amplified anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson. Italian MEP Sandro Ruotolo said the EU "cannot continue to pretend nothing is happening" and must ensure digital platforms do not become instruments of political interference.

The freedom of speech must always be defended, but so must the autonomy of democratic processes from those who wield unprecedented economic, technological and communicative power.

Platform power and investigations

Musk's influence is magnified by his control of X, which is already the subject of a French criminal investigation following complaints that its algorithm was used for foreign interference. Researchers from the Center for Countering Digital Hate have previously accused him of amplifying violent anti-immigration narratives during riots in Belfast. With Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public last month, French officials and EU lawmakers are now grappling with how to prevent a privately owned global communication infrastructure from shaping national elections.