Influential libertarian accounts on social media in France are under government surveillance, it has been revealed.
News outlet Franceinfo reported that the Élysée is worried about the success of the ideology carried by Javier Milei, Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Specialised companies have been tasked by the French State with monitoring influential accounts that convey a libertarian discourse on social networks, to better understand their doctrine.
“Libertarian theses are gradually penetrating public opinion in France, outside a microcosm”, Franceinfo wrote.
“The libertarian current, in its extreme form, that of far-right Argentine President Javier Milei, consists in wanting to cut state spending, or even annihilate it, cultivating a hatred of public services.”
Other ‘problematic’ libertarian tendencies are the promotion of “total freedom of expression”, which would allow people to “even make racist remarks”.
Paris is allegedly worried to see the libertarian ideology spread in wider circles and could lead to broader political disputes.
President of France’s National Rally party and MEP Jordan Bardella has warned that free speech is “under attack” in his country, citing the US as a model for change. https://t.co/J5JCKj9D1E
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 18, 2025
“More and more intellectuals or opinion leaders, on the Right, as well as journalists, who are identified as credible, share on X the publications of certain accounts – often tinged with racism, which criticise the system, believe that we pay too much tax, sometimes followed by tens of thousands of subscribers,” the news outlet wrote.
“Since the election of Donald Trump in the United States, the international context has been worrying at the highest level”.
In France, right-wing politicians have been learning from the popularity of Javier Milei, who has created a successful economic turn-around in his country.
Éric Ciotti, the former president of the centre-right Les Républicains, suggested cutting spending with a chainsaw, in line with Milei’s election campaign.
During the Ambassadors’ Conference in Paris on January 6, which outlined France’s diplomatic priorities for 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron criticised Musk’s alleged influence on European political affairs.
“Ten years ago, if someone had told us that the owner of one of the world’s largest social networks would support an international reactionary movement and directly intervene in elections, including in Germany, who would have imagined it?” he said.
Today, Musk is leading the efforts on cutting government waste with the DOGE department.
Freedom of speech is under attack in ??
– One of the largest TV channels (C8) hosting the most popular "free speech" show in the country lost its government license and had to close down
– A small up-and-coming conservative media (Frontières) has been attacked by the equivalent…— Parti Mileiste Français ??? (@Partimilieiste) February 23, 2025
