The White House is pressuring American space companies, including billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX, to decline French President Emmanuel Macron's invitation to a space summit in Paris next week, according to a Politico report.
In a private call, a White House official told companies -- including SpaceX, Stoke Space, K2 Space and Astra, that attending the two-day event "could look like tacit support for EU policy positions," three anonymous sources familiar with the call told Politico.
The sources also said the White House official, who works in the science and technology policy office, emphasized that the decision to attend is up to the companies, but the discouragement was noted.
The White House official also told industry representatives that "France did not coordinate with the US on the summit, accused the country of 'anti-competitive practices,' and suggested the event's panels were not designed to include the American perspective and may diminish US industry efforts," according to Politico's sources.
Politico said two of the sources were connected to space companies and the third was in politics.
The White House did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the story.
Philippe Baptiste, the French minister of higher education, research and space, said he was unsure of the accuracy of the report.
"Let me be clear: America is not only welcome -- we want you there," Baptiste wrote on X.
"US companies, scientists, NASA, NOAA, and the US Administration are all welcome," the minister said, adding that he was working in close coordination with Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Under President Donald Trump, the United States's relationships with European allies has taken on new dimensions with disagreements over tariffs, troop deployments to the unpopular war in the Middle East and more.
Co-chaired by France and Germany, the summit will be held at the Grand Palais in Paris and will host global leaders from around 120 countries to discuss the challenges related to the use of outer space.
In July, Secretary-General Philippe Adam told AFP the event would bring together "heads of state and governments, but also companies."
"Obviously, the Americans need to be there," he said.
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