Victoria’s Secret and Tesla face French boycott as anti-Trump feeling surges

PARIS ― Donald Trump is fueling France’s famous economic patriotism.

A majority of the French population is considering boycotting United States brands to oppose the new American administration, which has been verbally targeting Europe since coming to office.

Fifty-seven percent of the French say they are ready to boycott U.S. goods or services in the coming months as positive public perception of America falls to the lowest level in France in the past 40 years, according to a survey by polling firm Ifop for website nyc.fr published Tuesday.

Sixty-two percent of the French say they broadly support the idea of a boycott.

As transatlantic relations keep deteriorating following U.S. President Donald Trump’s ascension to office, the French appetite for economic patriotism is only growing.

Supporting French companies and punishing American tycoons who are endorsing Trump are the main reasons for the boycott, the survey shows.

Supporting French companies and punishing American tycoons who are endorsing Trump are the main reasons for the boycott, the survey shows.. | Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Almost one-third of surveyed people (32 percent) said they were already boycotting American brands, especially Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.

But more consumers could soon join the club: Twenty-six percent of the French said they would “certainly” boycott American products in the coming months, while 31 percent would “probably” do that.

Elon Musk’s Tesla would be the main target of the boycott, followed by Jeep (which is owned by multinational Stellantis), social media platform X and Victoria’s Secret lingerie.

While France is the third-largest trading partner of the U.S., trade relations between the two countries are again facing turmoil after Washington started a new trade war.

In the latest escalation of the ongoing trade spat, Trump targeted France specifically by threatening 200 percent tariffs on Champagne, wine and spirits coming from French producers — and the rest of the European Union.