"AI War", "sovereignty" : the suspension of Anthropic is part of the French presidential election

Washington’s injunction to suspend the access of “all foreign nationals” to artificial intelligence models caused heavyweights in the French presidential election to react on Saturday, warning against an “AI war”, and the need for independence from the United States.

The American flagship of artificial intelligence Anthropic was forced on Friday by its government to cut off access to its most powerful models. A decision without known precedent.

Washington, citing a risk to national security, ordered, under export control, to cut off access to these models for “any foreign national, inside or outside the United States”, including “employees foreigners” from Anthropic, according to the company press release.

“More than ever, European digital sovereignty is a necessity,” reacted the Minister for Digital, Anne Le Hénanff. “Great powers now consider strategic technologies as instruments of power.”

“This sudden decision reminds us that artificial intelligence is already a major subject of national sovereignty”, posted on X Jordan Bardella (National Rally), urging Paris, like other officials, to “accelerate in support” for the French company Mistral AI and “the entire AI eco-system”.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) estimated that the American decision “proves the urgency of being independent and sovereign”, while being a “political settling of scores” of the American government with Anthropic “supporter of ethical AI”.

La sécurité, dont Anthropic a fait un argument commercial, l’oppose déjà à l’administration Trump.

In early March, the Pentagon severed its contracts with the company, designating it a “supply chain risk.” Anthropic, whose models were the only ones accredited as defense secret, took legal action, claiming to have been sanctioned for having refused to allow its AI to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons.

“Welcome to Paris”

“The AI ​​war has already begun,” judged Gabriel Attal (Renaissance).

“We cannot rely on others because this makes us vulnerable, the United States’ decision shows this. Anthropic is their Strait of Hormuz,” he added.

“We have mastered neither the models nor the calculation” of AI, “as essential as electricity or the Internet,” warned Édouard Philippe (Horizons).

Urging Europe to “wake up”, the mayor of Le Havre encouraged to favor “European technological markets”, and to simplify “standards which benefit American big tech”.

LR candidate Bruno Retailleau called for “doing with AI what we did with nuclear power (…) thinking of it as part of our sovereignty”.

The senator invited the boss of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, to settle in France: “you are welcome in Paris”.

“We have entered a new world (…) where we can only count on ourselves first,” commented PS boss Olivier Faure, calling for “building a real European power”.