Billionaire Elon Musk has thrown his support behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen's bid for the French presidency, calling her "France's last hope", and prompting accusations of foreign interference in the 2027 election.
Musk on Wednesday called Le Pen "France's last hope" on his social media platform X, in a post declaring his support for her presidential bid – which she confirmed earlier this month, even after her conviction for embezzlement was upheld on appeal.
Musk has shown support for figures on the far right and had personally backed Le Pen, particularly throughout her legal proceedings, but had previously stopped short of openly endorsing her presidential campaign.
Election interference
His latest message has drawn criticism over possible interference in French politics.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot urged Musk to reconsider his position, writing, also on X: "Like we say in French: only fools don't change their minds."
Musk's support carries particular weight, as he became the world's first trillionaire after his company SpaceX went public last month, and he controls the algorithms of one of the world's leading social media platforms.
Formerly known as Twitter, X has been the target of a French criminal investigation following two complaints alleging that its algorithm had been used for foreign interference.
French MP Antoine Léaument, of the hard-left France Unbowed, described Musk's post as "foreign interference, which has begun for the presidential election".
He called on Arcom, France's independent communications regulator, to investigate.
Far-right voices
Musk has previously taken positions in several European election campaigns, often backing nationalist or populist figures.
He supported Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, saying in December 2024 that it was the only force capable of "saving Germany".
He called Romania's constitutional judges who annulled the first round of the presidential election "dictators", after concerns were raised about Russian interference in support of nationalist candidate Călin Georgescu.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called out Musk's alleged interference in European politics, after the billionaire published a string of hostile attacks on Starmer and Olaf Scholz, who was German chancellor at the time.
The Financial Times has reported that Musk had used his platform to amplify far-right voices, including extremist Tommy Robinson and Ashlea Simon, co-founder of the white supremacist group Britain First.
Million-dollar cheques
In the US, Musk is facing possible criminal proceedings over his political action committee's decision to hand out $1 million cheques to voters at a rally ahead of the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission recently referred two complaints from voters to the county district attorney's office, which can decide whether to bring criminal charges. Prosecutors have 40 days to respond to the commission.
Musk's political action committee used a similar approach before the 2024 presidential election, offering $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
A judge in Pennsylvania ruled that prosecutors had not shown the initiative was an illegal lottery, allowing it to continue until Election Day.
(with newswires)
