Washington's decision to suspend access for "any foreign national" to certain advanced artificial intelligence models triggered strong reactions on Saturday from leading figures in the French presidential race, who warned of an emerging "AI war" and stressed the need for greater independence from the United States.

The American AI powerhouse Anthropic was compelled on Friday to cut access to its most powerful models in compliance with a directive issued by the US government, in what appears to be an unprecedented move.

Invoking national security concerns, Washington ordered, under export-control regulations, that access to these models be denied to "any foreign national, inside or outside the United States", including Anthropic's own "foreign employees", according to a company statement.

Posting on X, Jordan Bardella (National Rally) said:

"This sudden decision reminds us that artificial intelligence has already become a major issue of national sovereignty."

Like several other French political leaders, he called on France to accelerate support for the French company Mistral AI and for the wider French AI ecosystem.

In a statement, La France Insoumise (LFI) called for:

• the mobilisation of national savings to finance "strategic digital infrastructure";
• and the opening of negotiations at the United Nations to regulate artificial intelligence.

Its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon argued that the American decision:

"proves the urgent need for us to be independent and sovereign",

while also describing it as a "political settling of scores" by the US administration against Anthropic, which he characterised as a supporter of "ethical AI".

Security issues, long used by Anthropic as a commercial argument, have already placed the company at odds with the Trump administration.

In early March, the Pentagon terminated its contracts with the company after designating it a "supply-chain risk". Anthropic, whose models had been the only ones accredited for classified defence use, subsequently took legal action, claiming it had been punished for refusing to allow its AI systems to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons.

"Welcome to Paris"

Gabriel Attal (Renaissance) stated:

"The AI war has already begun."

He added:

"We cannot rely on others because that makes us vulnerable. The American decision demonstrates this. Anthropic is their Strait of Hormuz."

Meanwhile, Édouard Philippe (Horizons) warned that France:

"controls neither the models nor the computing power"

behind AI, which he described as being "as essential as electricity or the internet".

Calling on Europe to "wake up", the Mayor of Le Havre urged policymakers to prioritise "European technology markets" and simplify "regulations that favour American Big Tech companies".

A similar position was advocated by Bruno Retailleau, the candidate of the Republicans, who also proposed:

• redirecting public procurement towards sovereign technological solutions;
• and treating AI "as we treated nuclear power (...) by recognising it as part of our national sovereignty".

The senator even invited Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei to relocate to France, declaring:

"You are welcome in Paris."

For his part, Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure commented:

"We have entered a new world (...) a world in which we can first and foremost rely only on ourselves."