'Elon Musk is the President, Donald Trump just doesn't know it yet': Ex-French leader lays into president-elect and warns EU should sanction tech mogul and hit US goods with tariffs too

The former President of France has declared the EU should consider sanctioning Elon Musk's companies and slapping US goods with retaliatory tariffs if Donald Trump is tough on Europe following his return to the Oval Office. The former President of France has declared the EU should consider sanctioning Elon Musk 's companies and slapping US goods with retaliatory tariffs if Donald Trump is tough on Europe following his return to the Oval Office Left-leaning French MP and former President Francois Hollande gestures as he attends a session of questions to the government at The National Assembly in Paris on November 26, 2024 Hollande was the President of France when Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in 2014 and began the prelude to the outbreak of fully-fledged war in 2022 In the run-up to the hotly anticipated presidential election, Trump had waxed lyrical about the benefits of trade duties as an economic and foreign policy tool, describing the word 'tariff' as 'the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff - my favourite word'. Hollande said the EU could be harmed by Trump's economic policies and argued European leaders must be prepared to fight for their respect from the White House if the soon-to-be 47th US President presses ahead. When asked to respond to concerns that Trump could dramatically reduce US military aid to Kyiv while rolling back Washington's commitments to NATO, Hollande said Europe must be prepared to back Ukraine all the way. The former French president was also critical of Musk, who he said had appeared to gain a great deal of political sway President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the House GOP conference, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington Hollande's rallying call to stand up to Putin came as Britain, France and the US granted Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russia.