THE GUARDIAN: French president accuses world’s richest man of intervening directly in continent’s democratic processes
Emmanuel Macron has added his voice to a growing chorus of European criticism of Elon Musk, accusing the world’s richest man of intervening directly in the continent’s democratic processes, including Germany’s snap federal elections next month.
The French president joined the Norwegian and British prime ministers and a German government spokesperson on Monday in responding to a barrage of hostile posts by Musk backing far-right political parties and attacking leftwing politicians in Europe.
The owner of the social media platform X is a close ally of Donald Trump and, after spending more than $250m (£210m) to help get him re-elected, has been asked by the incoming US president to cut the federal budget as a special adviser.
“Ten years ago, who would have imagined that the owner of one of the world’s largest social networks would be supporting a new international reactionary movement and intervening directly in elections, including in Germany,” Macron said. » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Monday, January 6, 2025
European leaders such as Emmanuel Macron are absolutely correct when they criticise this meddlesome man. Musk thinks more of himself than he ought to! The fact that he’s the world’s richest man doesn’t give him the right to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Musk’s wings need to be clipped before he does some serious damage to the world’s democracies. – © Mark Alexander
