‘Intimidation and Coercion’: Emmanuel Macron Slams Trump’s EU Visa Sanctions

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French President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized the sanctions put in place by President Donald Trump against several former British and European officials, decrying the move as being “aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.”

The Trump administration announced sanctions on Tuesday barring individuals Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as “leading figures of the global censorship-industrial complex” from entering the United States.

The five restricted persons were accused by the administration of engaging in “extraterritorial censorship of Americans,” including a former European Commission official who sparred with Elon Musk last year after he threatened to fine Musk’s platform X.

Macron was one of many European officials to speak out against the sanctions, denouncing the administration’s policy on X Wednesday.

“France condemns the visa restriction measures taken by the United States against Thierry Breton and four other European figures,” he said. “These measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.”

“The rules governing the European Union’s digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe,” he wrote.

The European Union released their own critical statement in response to Trump’s move, writing that “freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Europe and a shared core value with the United States across the democratic world.”

The Union further added that they would be willing to “respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures.”

European Council President António Costa used even stronger language, calling the sanctions “unacceptable between allies, partners, and friends.”

The sanctions mark the latest escalation in Trump’s increasing hostility toward Europe.

At an address to the UN General Assembly in September, Trump told delegates that “your countries are going to hell.” He repeated the sentiment earlier this month in an interview with Politico’s White House bureau chief Dasha Burns, trashing America’s European allies as a “decaying” bloc led by “weak” leaders who are “destroying their countries.”

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