French President Emmanuel Macron attends the 56th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2026.
France on Wednesday rejected as “fake news” claims by President Donald Trump that he pressured Emmanuel Macron to raise domestic drug prices after the U.S. leader threatened to impose steep tariffs on French imports to the United States.
It was the latest salvo in an escalating war of words between the two NATO allies as the transatlantic relationship comes under unprecedented strain with President Trump’s threat to seize Greenland and impose tariffs on any country that stands in his way.
“It is alleged that President Emmanuel Macron has increased the prices of medicines,” the French presidential palace wrote on social media platform X.
“He doesn’t set prices. Prices are regulated by the social security system and, in fact, remain stable. Anyone who has ever stepped into a French pharmacy knows this.”
The Elysée newspaper used a GIF of President Trump saying the words “fake news” in front of a microphone, with the same words written underneath.
Trump said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier Wednesday that he had threatened Macron with tariffs to induce him to raise drug prices in France.
“I said, ‘Here’s the story, Emanuel, the answer is, you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it right away. And if you don’t, I’m going to put a 25% tariff on everything you sell to the United States and a 100% tariff on your wine and champagne,'” Trump said.
“(And Macron) said, ‘No, no, Donald, I’ll do it, I’ll do it.’ It took me, on average, three minutes per country to keep saying the same thing, ‘You can do it,'” Trump said.
Last year, the French government created an account called @frenchresponse to debunk false narratives and misinformation.このアカウントはここ数週間でますます活発になり、特にトランプ政権の発言に異議を唱えている。
