French far-right cautious of Trump as policies threaten European interests

Sarah Elzas

30 November 2024 at 6:26 am·1-min read

While President Emmanuel Macron was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Donald Trump on his election victory, France remains wary of the United States president-elect, given his rhetoric against Europe, his plan to impose import tariffs and his stance on the war in Ukraine. Even though some European far-right leaders celebrated his win, France's National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen remains sceptical.

A recent poll shows that 62 percent of French people are "concerned" by Trump's win, and eight out of 10 have a negative image of him.

His re-election was not as much of a surprise as his win in 2016 "but it was sort of a disappointment", says Celia Belin, head of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

"The French had to realise that Americans, by a substantial margin, picked Donald Trump – someone who feels very foreign to European interests, very aggressive, very bullish."

Listen to an interview with Celia Belin in the Spotlight on France podcast, listen here:

European unity

Trump has questioned the US's commitment to NATO, and has threatened to impose on tariffs on all imports.

While so far he has detailed the tariffs he would impose on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods, he has not mentioned Europe – but given the US is the continent's largest export market for many goods, the impact of any tariffs would likely be severe.

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