French companies shocked by letter from US embassy in Paris demanding they respect Trump's anti-diversity policy
The US embassy sent a letter to a number of French companies demanding that they comply with the Trump administration's 'anti-DEI' policy if they want any contracts with the US federal government.
The letter was signed by Stanislas Parmentier, the general services officer at the US embassy in Paris, according to the US State Department directory. Under normal circumstances, it would have remained under the radar, but this is the age of Donald Trump. Revealed by French economic daily Les Echos on Friday, March 28, the letter – Le Monde also obtained a copy of it – instructed the French companies to which it was addressed to respect the rules laid down by Trump, which ban all positive discrimination in favor of diversity and gender parity (DEI, for Diversity Equity Inclusion). "We inform you that Executive Order 14173, ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunities, signed by President Trump, applies to all suppliers and service providers for the US government, regardless of their nationality or the country in which they operate," wrote the embassy employee, who asked respondents to sign "within five days (...) a form for compliance with the US anti-discrimination law."
The letter instantly created a stir in Paris, and escalated to senior management and even board levels. The extent of the problem was unknown: Was it restricted to suppliers to the embassy or the State Department? This was what the preamble to the form to be signed suggested, explaining that "all Department of State contractors must certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI."
This could explain why French telecommunications company Orange, which has no business in the US, received it. Or was this a warning to all French companies? But, in that case, why were big names operating in the US, such as French multinational manufacturing company Saint-Gobain, not sent the letter, either in France or the US? "This letter was only sent to companies with contractual relations with the federal government. Saint-Gobain is not affected," the company told Le Monde. Axa and Kering did not receive it either, according to our sources.
Positive discrimination weaker in France
The tension created by Trump reached such a level that a letter from the embassy created a panic of the same order as if it had been sent by the US Treasury Secretary or Secretary of State. Probably not entirely wrongly: Trump's desired policy is now being diligently implemented by federal administration officials. The missive is undoubtedly a precursor to future demands that European companies comply with anti-DEI rules if they want to do business with the US government, or even do business at all in the US.
Accusations of abuse of jurisdiction and interference abound. Some are trying to play for time before deciding what to do. And the outrage is for the moment anonymous while several groups have chosen not to sign the certification letter, a senior executive of a large French group informs Le Monde.
The entourage of French Minister of the Economy Eric Lombard judged that "this practice reflects the values of the new American government. They are not ours. The minister will remind his counterparts in the American government of this."
In fact, in a country that has historically fought against all separatism and ethnic distinction, unlike the US, affirmative action policies in France have historically been much weaker than in the US and very little based on law, with ethnic counting prohibited and the consideration of origins forbidden within companies. On the other hand, companies with more than 250 employees are legally subject to a minimum quota of 40% women on their board of directors or supervisory board.
Disney targeted by special missive
Trump's executive order came on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling in the summer of 2023 banning affirmative action in American universities. In his executive order signed on January 21, the US president wrote that diversity policies "not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system."
According to Trump, "hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex."
This policy is being pursued across the board. On Friday, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the media, Brendan Carr, posted on X the letter he had sent to Disney boss Bob Iger, to make sure he had thoroughly dismantled his DEI policies, not just in appearance.
"For decades, Disney focused on churning out box office and programming successes. But then something changed. Disney has now been embroiled in rounds of controversy surrounding its DEI policies," wrote Brendan Carr, who questions Disney's former goals of having more than 50 % minority actors, directors, writers, or paying its executives based on DEI results. "I want to ensure that Disney and ABC [its TV network] have not been violating the FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination," Carr warned.
In 2022, the feud between Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney, who opposed a law dubbed "Don't Say Gay" banning lessons on homosexuality and gender theory from schools and colleges, marked the acme of the culture war in the US. It also marked the beginning of the anti-DEI backlash. It continues unabated today.