France pushes back against MAGA political meddling

DW News · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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US President Donald Trump and his allies have long expressed their support for the right and far right of the European political spectrum. This was made official in the United States National Security Strategy (NSS) published in December 2025. The document suggests that there is a real risk of Europe facing "civilizational erasure" because of its migration policies and also states that the "growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism." The Trump administration has been active behind the scenes too, something that Magali Lafourcade, a French magistrate and also the secretary general of France's human rights commission (CNCDH), became convinced of last year. On April 28, 2025, she raised the alarm about foreign interference with the French Foreign Ministry. Experts say the episode makes clear the extent to which France is in the sights of the US. Lafourcade, who is not involved in the Marine Le Pen trial, recently made public that she had received Samuel D. Samson and Christopher Anderson from the US State Department when they were on a tour of Europe, during which, according to media reports, they also met with members of the French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN). "It quickly became clear that they wanted information about the trial against Marine Le Pen," the magistrate told DW. Not long before, the RN's presidential candidate had been convicted of embezzling EU funds and barred from running for political office for five years. If an appeals court upholds the ruling this coming July, Le Pen will not be able to stand in next year's presidential elections. "According to the US diplomats, the verdict was politically motivated because Le Pen was in the opposition against President Emmanuel Macron," Lafourcade recalled. "I said that she had been convicted of corruption after a thorough 10-year investigation and it was not unusual to be barred on grounds of ineligibility. But they wouldn't let up — as if they were looking for evidence that it wasn't a fair trial. Then Samson said that Europe must respect freedom of expression. I replied that we had freedom of expression here, except with regard to slander, defamation, hate speech, discrimination, and Holocaust denial," she told DW. "They said, 'We are your allies, but for that, Europe must reallow forbidden statements.' MAGA [Make America Great Again] uses the language of human rights to undermine them," Lafourcade explained. Trump has come under criticism for his words and actions against people and organizations who think differently from him. This has not stopped him from denying journalists access to the White House or suing media outlets.Republicans Overseas member describes foreign interference claims as 'slander' Nicolas Conquer, a member of Republicans Overseas France and the founder of The Western Arc, a think tank that says it is inspired by MAGA, described the claim that the meeting was an attempt at foreign interference as "slander." He told DW that this was "clutching at straws. It is entirely legitimate to have concerns regarding the trial. We are observers of the developments and we support things that lie in the interest of the Americans and Europeans." However, for the French Foreign Ministry it is less clear whether US interests continue to coincide with those of France and Europe. "We respond to anyone who attacks us — whether from the East or the West," ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux told DW. The timing of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot's announcement of a new strategy against foreign interference speaks for itself: the announcement was made on January 29, 2025, one week after Trump's inauguration. The ministry has set up an X account entitled "French Response" to respond to disinformation with irony. "We cannot win the information war without going to battle," Confavreux said. Earlier this month, the French Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador after comments made by the Trump administration regarding the death of a far-right activist in the city of Lyon. The ambassador ignored the summons. According to David Colon, a history professor at Sciences Po Paris whose research focuses on mass manipulation, France has the best system in Europe for defending itself against information warfare. "President Macron became aware of the danger of foreign interference during his 2017 presidential campaign," he told DW, explaining that during what became known as the 'Macron leaks' someone had published thousands of emails related to his campaign on the internet. He said that Europe was like the sandwich filling between two big powers. "There are conspiracy theorists in power in the US. They have the same goals and strategies as the Russians, want to weaken the EU and want the US to withdraw from NATO." 'This love is toxic' Tara Varma, managing director of strategic foresight at the German Marshall Fund in Paris, speaks of an "obsession." MAGA supporters "claim they 'love' Europe," she told DW. "But this love is toxic. They want to subordinate Europe, they are climate deniers, and against minority rights." Maya Kandel, an associate researcher and expert on US foreign policy at Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, is convinced that the US has waged a culture war against Europe, and France in particular. "They hold regular meetings with members of France's right-wing and far-right politicians," she told DW. "The MAGA movement is exporting its ideas through international conferences, such as CPACs and NatCons, and the US government plans to finance affiliated organizations in other countries." Why France is a target is obvious, says Lafourcade. "We play a central role in the EU, have nuclear weapons, and are a permanent member of the UN Security Council. And it wouldn't take much for the situation to tip." The RN currently leads the polls ahead of the 2027 presidential elections. This article was originally published in German.