France’s Macron asks Trump to lift sanctions on European officials
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France’s President Macron is preparing to challenge his US counterpart Donald Trump over social media and free speech.
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron has written to Mr Donald Trump asking his US counterpart to lift sanctions imposed on officials, including former European Union commissioner Thierry Breton.
The United States placed visa bans on Mr Breton
“The sanctions adopted against Thierry Breton undermine European regulatory autonomy and are, moreover, based on erroneous analysis: European digital regulation has no extraterritorial reach and applies without discrimination, within European territory, to all companies concerned,” Mr Macron said, according to extracts of the letter published on Feb 22 by La Tribune Dimanche.
A spokesman for the Elysee palace confirmed the letter.
Mr Macron is preparing to challenge Mr Trump over social media and free speech by making it a central priority for the French presidency of the Group of Seven in 2026. He is pushing for restrictions on children accessing social media, saying last week he will discuss the issue directly with US president.
In the letter to Mr Trump, Mr Macron also asked for the lifting of sanctions on a French magistrate over the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the nation’s former defence minister.
“The sanctions adopted against Nicolas Guillou undermine the principle of judicial independence and the mandate of the ICC,” Mr Macron said in the letter. BLOOMBERG
