French Minister Slaps Down Trump’s DEI ‘Diktat’ to Europe
Trump’s statement appeared to suggest his butchering of diversity, equity and inclusion drives could apply beyond U.S. borders.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
French lawmakers rebuffed President Donald Trump after his administration tried to export its war on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to Europe.
Earlier in the week, the Trump administration sent a letter to a number of French companies claiming the Republican president’s measures against DEI apply “to all suppliers and service providers of the U.S. government, regardless of their nationality and the country.”
“It’s an attempt to impose a diktat on our business,” Aurore Bergé, France’s Minister for Equality and Combating Discrimination, said in a Sunday interview on French network BFM TV.
“A form, obviously, of interference,” she added.
The letter further asked addressees to “certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable anti-discrimination laws.”
It additionally said that if any recipients should object, “we would appreciate it if you could provide detailed reasons, which we will forward to our legal services.”
Bergé said the French government is currently “following the situation very closely,” with efforts being made to ascertain the exact number of companies in France the letter was sent to.
The minister added many firms had made it clear they had precisely no plans to reply anyway, given that “they don’t have to respond, in fact, to a sort of ultimatum laid out by the U.S. embassy in our country.”
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“It’s out of the question that we’ll prevent our business from promoting social progress,” she said. “Thankfully, a lot of French companies don’t plan to change their rules.”
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