France rejects Trump's comment on drug prices, calls it 'fake news'

France ⁠rejected arsenic "fake news" connected Wednesday President Donald Trump's assertion that helium had pressured President Emmanuel Macron into hiking home cause prices ‍after the U.S. person threatened ‍sweeping tariffs connected French ‍imports to the United States.

It was the latest salvo successful an escalating warfare of words betwixt the 2 NATO allies arsenic Trump's menace to instrumentality power of Greenland and to impose tariffs connected immoderate ‌country ‌that stands successful his mode puts transatlantic relations nether unprecedented ​strain.

"It is being claimed that President @Emmanuel Macron accrued the terms of medicines," the French presidency wrote connected societal media level X.

"He does not acceptable their prices. They are regulated by the societal information strategy and have, successful fact, ⁠remained stable. Anyone who has acceptable ft successful a French pharmacy knows this."

The Elysee utilized a GIF of Trump mouthing the words "fake news" successful beforehand of a microphone, with the aforesaid words successful penning underneath.

Earlier connected Wednesday, Trump said successful a code astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland, that helium had threatened Macron with tariffs to cajole him into expanding cause prices successful France.

"I said, 'Here's the story, Emmanuel, the reply is, you're going to bash it, you're going to bash it fast. And if you don't, I'm putting a 25% tariff connected everything that you merchantability into the United States, and a 100% tariff connected your wines and champagnes," Trump said.

"(And Macron said) 'No, no, Donald, I volition bash it, I volition bash it'. It took maine connected mean ‍three minutes a country, saying the aforesaid thing, 'You volition bash it'," Trump said.

Trump earlier mocked ‌Macron for the aviator sunglasses helium wore during his ain code astatine ⁠Davos connected Tuesday. Trump has besides threatened to deed French wines and champagnes with 200% tariffs successful an evident effort to transportation him to articulation the ‍U.S. leader's Board of Peace inaugural aimed astatine resolving planetary conflicts.

Macron has taken a harder enactment than astir European Union leaders implicit Trump's Greenland threat, urging the bloc to activate its astir potent commercialized tools against Washington and saying Europe would not springiness successful to bullies.

The French authorities past twelvemonth acceptable up an relationship called @frenchresponse to exposure mendacious narratives ⁠and misinformation. The relationship has go progressively progressive ‌in caller weeks, notably successful challenging rhetoric from the Trump administration.