EU’s French Ornery Point Man on Trade Takes Aim at Trump Campaign — and Misses

A former telecom man, Thierry Breton, apparently has nothing better to do than fire off missives to Elon Musk.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images
TOLEDO, SPAIN - AUGUST 30: Thierry Breton (R), European Union (EU) Commissioner looks at his phone beside Sebastien Lecornu, French Defence Minister prior to the informal meeting of EU defence ministers on August 30, 2023 in Toledo, Spain. The informal ministerial meeting on defence focuses on the ongoing war in Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022, its global and regional effects and the situation in Niger. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) Denis Doyle/Getty Images

“Remember the Minitel” could be the rallying cry of graying French political irritant Thierry Breton. The Minitel, those of a certain age will remember, was the ill-fated French riposte to CompuServe. It was run by the state subsidized France Télécom. Mr. Breton once served as CEO of the defunct telecom and now serves as the EU’s internal market commissioner. One of the things he has a penchant for doing in that capacity, apparently, is writing needling letters to Elon Musk.

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