US Administration Accused of Interfering in French Politics, Targeting Judicial System

US President Donald Trump and his administration have been accused of attempting to influence French domestic politics, according to revelations from a senior French judicial official. The allegations highlight growing tensions between traditional transatlantic allies as the Trump administration openly supports right-wing European political movements.

Magali Lafourcade, a French magistrate and secretary general of France’s human rights commission (CNCDH), reported that in April 2025 she met with two US State Department officials who questioned the legitimacy of legal proceedings against far-right leader Marine Le Pen. This encounter prompted Lafourcade to alert the French Foreign Ministry about potential foreign interference.

“It quickly became clear that they wanted information about the trial against Marine Le Pen,” Lafourcade told reporters. “According to the US diplomats, the verdict was politically motivated because Le Pen was in the opposition against President Emmanuel Macron.”

Le Pen, the presidential candidate for Rassemblement National (RN), was convicted of embezzling European Union funds and barred from running for political office for five years. If an appeals court upholds this ruling in July, she will be ineligible for the 2027 presidential elections, where polls currently show her party leading.

The State Department officials, identified as Samuel D. Samson and Christopher Anderson, reportedly met with RN members during their European tour. According to Lafourcade, the American officials insisted the conviction was unfair and suggested Europe should “reallow forbidden statements” in the name of freedom of expression.

“They said, ‘We are your allies, but for that, Europe must reallow forbidden statements.’ MAGA uses the language of human rights to undermine them,” Lafourcade explained.

The Trump administration formalized its support for Europe’s right-wing movements in its December 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS), which warns of “civilizational erasure” in Europe due to migration policies and praises the “growing influence of patriotic European parties” as cause for “great optimism.”

Nicolas Conquer, a member of Republicans Overseas France, dismissed the interference allegations as “slander” and defended American concerns about Le Pen’s trial as legitimate. “We are observers of the developments and we support things that lie in the interest of the Americans and Europeans,” Conquer told reporters.

The French government, however, has taken a more confrontational stance. Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux stated, “We respond to anyone who attacks us — whether from the East or the West.” Just one week after Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced a new strategy to combat foreign interference.

The ministry has launched a social media account called “French Response” to counter disinformation campaigns. In a sign of deteriorating diplomatic relations, France recently summoned the US ambassador following controversial comments from the Trump administration about a far-right activist’s death in Lyon, but the ambassador declined to appear.

Experts view these developments as part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to reshape the European political landscape. David Colon, a history professor at Sciences Po Paris, described Europe as caught between competing powers, with conspiracy theorists in the US pursuing goals similar to Russia’s: “They have the same goals and strategies as the Russians, want to weaken the EU and want the US to withdraw from NATO.”

Tara Varma of the German Marshall Fund characterized the situation as an “obsession” from MAGA supporters who claim to love Europe but “want to subordinate Europe, they are climate deniers, and against minority rights.”

France appears to be a primary target due to its strategic importance. As Lafourcade noted, “We play a central role in the EU, have nuclear weapons, and are a permanent member of the UN Security Council. And it wouldn’t take much for the situation to tip.”

With the RN currently leading polls ahead of the 2027 presidential elections, the stakes in this transatlantic power struggle remain exceptionally high.