The South Africa-born billionaire now seems poised to be onboard from the onset of Trump’s second term. In a surprising development, the tech tycoon joined a call between the United States president-elect and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week.
Barrot is familiar with Musk, having been France’s junior minister for tech when the Tesla owner completed the acquisition of the social media network now known as X in 2022. That same year, Barrot said that he was “appalled” by Musk’s handling of the platform. He later stated on multiple occasions that he would not oppose a ban in the European Union if X refused to abide by the Digital Services Act.
The two met at the company’s former headquarters in California in January 2023 to discuss this issue as well as the platform’s commitment to content moderation and child protection.
“We will never allow public debate to be outsourced to deregulated social networks in the hands of special interests, whether American or Chinese,” Barrot added in the Le Parisien interview published Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first leaders to congratulate Trump on his victory last week, and later argued that the 78-year-old’s return to power should push the European Union to become more independent from trading rivals such as China and the United States.
