Elon Musk backs Le Pen as ‘France’s last hope’
Trillionaire made comment in social media post referencing Le Pen’s polling figures
Elon Musk has backed the upcoming fourth presidential campaign of Marine Le Pen, calling her ‘France’s last hope’.
Mr Musk – widely considered the world’s first trillionaire following the public listing of his company SpaceX in June 2026 – made the statement on social media platform X, which he owns, on Wednesday (July 15).
He was replying to a post referencing the polling figures of Ms Le Pen and the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in light of the 2027 election, set to be held on April 18 and May 2.
She is France’s last hope https://t.co/alN4E0hXbl
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2026
Mr Musk has previously shown personal support for Ms Le Pen during her 2025 trial for embezzling EU funds.
“I hope and encourage Ms Le Pen to overcome this persecution and run in the next presidential election,” he said following the ruling.
However, yesterday’s comments were his first official backing of her as a candidate in an election.
Mr Musk recently failed to attend a voluntary interview with Paris’ public prosecutor, regarding a series of potential offences related to the X platform. These include manipulation of the platform’s algorithm, dissemination of illegal content, and sexualised deepfake images.
Le Pen polling figures, opponents criticise Musk
The original post Mr Musk replied to claimed that Ms Le Pen’s current polling popularity sits at 36%, with her closest competitor at 16%.
A poll conducted last week by Ifop-Fiducial for media outlet Le Figaro placed Ms Le Pen on 36% of the first-round vote.
However it placed Edouard Philippe second on 19% (with far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon third on 15%).
In a scenario where former prime minister Gabriel Attal runs for a centrist alliance instead of Mr Philippe, he is forecast to obtain 15% of the vote.
In both cases, the poll only accounts for first-round preference and not hypothetical run-offs between Ms Le Pen and a single candidate – in this scenario, opposition historically bands together in a ‘republican front’ to prevent a far-right candidate from winning.
Ms Le Pen sensationally announced her candidacy for the 2027 presidential election last week following a Paris appeal court ruling on her sentence for embezzling EU funds. The court maintained the guilty verdict on her for embezzlement but reduced the sentencing.
Mr Musk’s comments were quickly criticised by political opponents, including French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
“Like we say in French: Only fools do not change their minds,” he said.
"Elon Musk's foreign interference has [already] begun regarding the presidential election,” said La France Insoumise MP Antoine Léaument. He called on communications regulator Arcom to investigate the matter.
Musk continues to back European far-right
The statement is the latest in several controversial comments by Mr Musk, who has increasingly thrown his weight behind far-right parties in Europe.
Formerly a backer of right-wing populist Nigel Farage and Reform UK, Mr Musk has now thrown his weight behind ‘Restore Britain’ a far-right party founded by MP Rupert Lowe.
He has also been a vocal supporter of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), – appearing as a surprise virtual guest at a party conference in Halle in 2025 – as well as of Viktor Orbán and Giorgia Meloni and their respective parties.
Recently, The Connexion looked into whether it is fair to call Ms Le Pen and her RN party far-right.
