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Emmanuel Macron accuses Elon Musk of supporting “a reactionary international” in a world in “disorder”

French President Emmanuel Macron accused Elon Musk on Monday of “supporting a new reactionary international” and interfering in the elections of other countries, such as Germany.

“Ten years ago, if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new reactionary international and intervene directly in elections, including Germany, who would have imagined it?” he asked during a speech before the annual conference of French ambassadors.

Macron warned of the “uncertainty” that lives a world increasingly in “disorder”, marked by the return of imperial impulses, the questioning of information and knowledge and the “very violent” questioning of humanism.

He warned that there is “an international of reactionaries” that represents “great private financial interests”, which takes advantage of the fact that “our liberal democracies have not been sufficiently effective” in protecting the middle class.

“We must achieve an agenda for the defense of democracy”

“We must achieve an agenda for the defense of democracy,” with counter-powers, and he also warned that large technology companies, while offering new possibilities, are also making States feel threatened by their growing power.

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Faced with this situation, he reached out to the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, assuring that the future tenant of the White House “kinds that he has a solid ally” in France.

He added that Trump, who will take office in two weeks, has “a lucid ambition about the transatlantic relationship” between the US and Europe, and recalled that France “knew how to work” with Trump during his first term in 2016-2020.

Macron also acknowledged that “if you are weak and defeatist, there is little chance of being respected by President Trump’s United States.”

The French head of state extended his criticism of Russia and Iran. Regarding Russia, he said that it “has changed” in the way it exerts its “aggressiveness towards Europeans,” and recalled its political and electoral interference last year in Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia.

Macron on Ukraine: “There is no quick and easy solution”

He also accused Moscow of “de facto globalizing” the war in Ukraine, which in his opinion is one of the great strategic challenges for Europe.

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Macron acknowledged that “there is no quick and easy solution to that conflict,” but also recalled that there will be no solution without the Ukrainians, something that Europe would not accept either.

And about Iran, he said that his ballistic program “threatens European territory” and that he has been involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as in the conflicts in the Middle East.

“The Iranian issue is one of the main ones that we will deal with with the new US Administration,” he summarized.

Macron also warned about the “very important” risk of “regression” in the international fight against climate change, for which he said he is responsible for the recent disasters in Spain and in the French department of Mayotte.

“There is no justification for the continuation of Israel’s military operations”

On Gaza, he said that “there is no justification for the continuation of Israel’s military operations” in that territory and said that this year must mark the progress for the materialization of Palestinian aspirations.

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The French president also focused on international trade, which in his opinion must be “rethought”, because Europeans “have been too naive”, and gave as an example the dispute with China over electric cars.

“If there is no loyalty in trade, it is not possible to produce competitively in Europe,” he said, so he asked to “defend European production capacity at every step of the value chain.”

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International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

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When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.

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Netanyahu vows to target Iran’s leadership after missile strikes in southern Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to target Iran’s leadership directly, escalating rhetoric amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.

Speaking during a visit to the southern city of Arad, which was struck by an Iranian missile a day earlier, Netanyahu said Israel would intensify its response against Tehran.

“We are going after the regime. We are going after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that gang of criminals,” he told reporters while standing among the debris left by the தாக்க.

He added that Israel intends to strike “personally” at Iran’s leadership, as well as its facilities and economic assets.

In addition to Arad, Iranian missiles also hit the city of Dimona on Saturday. The area is widely believed to host Israel’s undeclared nuclear facilities. The strike caused significant damage following a direct impact.

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Netanyahu also visited Dimona, where he urged residents to strictly follow military instructions and seek shelter whenever warning sirens are activated.

“The entire nation is a front line, and the home front is also a front line. And when we are on the front line, we follow these instructions,” he said.

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International

US panel backs Trump-themed coin amid controversy

The United States Department of the Treasury confirmed to AFP that the Commission of Fine Arts approved the design of a new collectible coin featuring Donald Trump, with members of the commission appointed by the current administration.

According to the proposal, the coin will feature an image of Trump standing with clenched fists over a desk on the obverse, while the reverse will display an eagle, a traditional symbol of the United States.

The sale price of the collectible has not yet been disclosed, although the United States Mint typically offers similar items for more than $1,000.

“There is no more iconic portrait for the front of these coins than that of our president Donald Trump,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement sent to AFP. He added that two additional coins — a $1 piece and a one-ounce gold coin — are also under consideration.

However, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), another body responsible for reviewing new coin proposals, declined to discuss the Trump design in late February.

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“Only nations governed by kings or dictators place the image of a sitting leader on their currency,” said Donald Scarinciat the time. “No country in the world has minted coins featuring a democratically elected leader during their term in office,” he added.

When contacted by AFP, the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.

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