Macron Is Setting Up a G-7 Showdown With Trump Over Social Media

French President Emmanuel Macron US President Donald Trump in Sharm El-Sheikh.Photographer: Yoan Valat/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

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By Ania Nussbaum and Kavita Mokha

February 19, 2026 at 12:04 PM UTC

Updated on

February 19, 2026 at 12:54 PM UTC

Emmanuel Macron is preparing for one more big moment on the world stage — and it looks like he wants to mark it with a fight with Donald Trump over social media and free speech.

The French leader said Thursday that protecting children from the harms of social media and artificial intelligence will be a priority for his country’s Group of Seven presidency, in a direct challenge to the Trump administration, which has lined up with US tech firms and made free speech a cornerstone of its foreign policy.