French Response: the French diplomatic counter-offensive on X
As states increasingly clash in the arena of information warfare, the Quai d’Orsay has embraced a new weapon on social media.
A diplomatic account has even gone so far as to publish a photo of Elon Musk performing what appears to be a Nazi salute. A sharp response to a tweet by the far-right billionaire criticising Europe. The account behind these responses is “French Response”, run by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and the aim of this new tone in French diplomacy is “to counter foreign interference and disinformation”.
https://t.co/DHadkwy5Bt pic.twitter.com/w2tonQ5eQM
— French Response (@FrenchResponse) January 11, 2026
And there is no shortage of subjects to respond to. Whether dealing with Russia or the United States, France is finding itself forced to reinvent its digital communication strategy.
The United States was the first target after the US Secretary of State claimed that France’s recognition of the State of Palestine had derailed negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages. The diplomatic account immediately fired back, contradicting the American claim and pointing out that the negotiations had already collapsed before the recognition decision.
When Russia asserted that France is illegally holding Mayotte, French Response – recalling that Mayotte chose to remain French in a 1974 referendum – responded with unapologetic irony: “Do you know what a referendum is? Elections, democracy? Words that must sound unfamiliar to you.” And when conspiracy-leaning “MAGA” accounts speculated, after Greenland, about a “future easy conquest of France”, French diplomacy joked: “Breaking news! The Statue of Liberty has been spotted swimming across the Atlantic!”
Breaking: Statue of Liberty reportedly spotted swimming back across the Atlantic. Said she “preferred the original terms and conditions.” 🇫🇷 https://t.co/MHTrtjv5zZ
— French Response (@FrenchResponse) January 18, 2026
This off-beat, highly reactive account is already gaining traction. Launched on 5 September 2025, French Response tripled its follower count within just a few weeks. Even so, its roughly one hundred thousand followers remain a long way from the millions following the accounts the Quai d’Orsay is taking on.
