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The Trump administration has written to large French companies warning them to comply with executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
A letter sent by the US embassy in Paris said that Trump’s executive order was applied to non-US businesses, anyone familiar with the matter said that if they are a US government supplier or service provider.
The embassy also sent a survey ordering businesses to prove compliance. The document seen by the Financial Times is titled “Acceptance of compliance with applicable federal prevention laws.”
According to the document, “State Department contractors must prove that they do not operate programs that promote DEIs in violation of applicable anti-discrimination laws and agree that such certification is important for the purposes of government payment decisions and therefore subject to the False Claims Act.”
The documents appear to show that the Trump administration is expanding its campaign against DEI to foreign companies after it launched crackdowns on US media groups such as Disney.
A senior Parisian banker said he was shocked by the letter. “It’s crazy.. But everything’s possible. The strongest rules now win.”
The French Ministry of Finance has raised concerns after some of the companies involved informed the move.
“The practice reflects the values of the new US government. They are not the same as us,” said someone close to French economy minister Eric Lombard. “The department reminds him of that to his counterpart in the US government.”
The existence of the letter was first reported by the Leséchos newspaper.
The US out-of-territorial movements lie in raising tensions between the Trump administration and Europe over economic and security policies, particularly with regard to trade and the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This week, Trump imposed an additional 25% collection on imports of the automobile sector into the US, increasing tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports. The EU is working on mutual tariffs accordingly, but has yet to decide which products it is targeting.
The attitudes of top officials towards Europe were thrown into severe relief this week when messages about the US plan for the attack in Yemen were leaked to American media this week. “I hate bailing out Europe again,” Vice President JD Vance wrote in a signal chat group. “That’s pathetic,” replied Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses.
France has not traditionally been the site of DEI programs that have been rooted in the legal restrictions on the collection of racial and ethnic data. Employers are not permitted to consider the origins of people in their employment or promotion decisions.
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However, French companies that could be exposed to US demand include aviation and defense groups, consulting providers and infrastructure companies. FT could not immediately determine which companies received the letter.
According to Leséchos, the letter concluded: “If you do not agree to sign this document, I would appreciate it if I could kindly provide you with a detailed reason for forwarding it to the Legal Department.”
