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The Trump management has sent some large French companies a letter in which they comply with an executive regulation in which diversity, equity and inclusion programs are prohibited.
The letter sent by the American embassy in Paris stated that Trump cardThe executive regulation was for companies outside the United States, if they were a supplier or service provider of the American government, a person familiar with the matter.
The message also sent a questionnaire that ordered the company to testify their compliance. The document that the Financial Times has seen is entitled “Certification to comply with the applicable federal antidis crimination law”.
The document states that “contractor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to certify that they do not operate programs that are applicable to the applicable anti -discrimination laws, and agree that such certification for the purpose of the government’s purpose is essential and is therefore subject to the False Claims Act.”
The documents seem to signal that the Trump administration is expanding its campaign against DEI to foreign companies US media groups like Disney.
A high -ranking banker in Paris said he was shocked by the letter. “It’s crazy … but now everything is possible. The rule of the strongest is now.”
The French Ministry of Finance expressed concerns after some of the companies involved informed it about the move.
“This practice reflects the values of the new US government. They are not the same as ours,” said one person nearby FranceEconomic Minister Eric Lombard. “The ministry will remind its colleagues in the US government.”
The existence of the letter was first reported by the Les échos newspaper.
The extraterritorial step of the United States takes place in the middle of the tensions between the Trump administration and Europe via economic and security policy, while the nation deviate from its traditional allies, especially in terms of trade and Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine.
This week Trump imposed an additional delivery of 25 percent the imports of the car sector into the USA and increased the tariffs for European steel and aluminum imports. The EU works in response to mutual tariffs, but has not yet decided which products to aim.
The attitude of the Top Trump officials towards Europe was brought into a strong relief this week when news about US attack plans were passed on to American media in Yemen. “I just hate saving Europe again,” wrote Vice President JD Vance in a signal chat group. “It’s pathetic,” said Defense Minister Pete Hegseth.
France has traditionally not been a place where DEI programs gained roots due to legal restrictions on the collection of racist and ethnic data. Employers may not take into account the origins of people in attitudes or promotion decisions.
French companies that may be exposed to the US requirements are aviation and defense groups, advisory providers and infrastructure companies. The FT could not immediately determine which companies had received the letter.
According to Les échos, the letter came to the conclusion: “If you do not agree to sign this document, we would be grateful if you could kindly provide us with detailed reasons that we will forward to our legal department.”
