PARIS – A French minister has raised concerns about U.S. diplomats allegedly meddling in the affairs of French companies. Reports suggest that American diplomats sent a letter advising the companies that President Donald Trump’s decision to end diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives could have global implications.
According to French media sources, the letter, signed by a U.S. State Department official stationed at the American Embassy in Paris, was received by several major French corporations. The U.S. Embassy has not provided any comments in response to queries from The Associated Press.
The French newspaper Le Figaro has reportedly obtained a copy of the letter. It stated that Trump’s executive order from January, which halted DEI programs in the U.S. government, also extends its reach to include all contractors and vendors working with the U.S. government, regardless of their nationality or operating location.
The document asked recipients to complete, sign and return within five days a separate certification form to demonstrate that they are in compliance.
That form, also published by Le Figaro, said: “All Department of State contractors must certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable anti-discrimination laws.”
The form asked recipients to tick a box to confirm that they “do not operate any programs promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”
The letter added: “If you do not agree to sign this document, we would appreciate it if you could provide detailed reasons, which we will forward to our legal services.”
Aurore Bergé, France’s minister for equality between women and men and combating discrimination, said Sunday that the letter is “a form, obviously, of interference. That’s to say it’s an attempt to impose a diktat on our businesses.”
Speaking to broadcaster BFMTV, she said that France’s government is “following the situation very closely” and working to determine how many companies received the letter.
The minister said that “many” companies have told the government that they don’t plan to reply, “because they don’t have a respond, in fact, to a sort of ultimatum laid out by the U.S. Embassy in our country.”
“It’s out of the question that we’ll prevent our business from promoting social progress,” the minister said. “Thankfully, a lot of French companies don’t plan to change their rules.”
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