‘Political Attack’: Elon Musk’s First Reaction After French Authorities Raid X’s Office In Paris

Last Updated:February 04, 2026, 08:59 IST

X has described the raid as “an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives."

The offices of X were raided on Tuesday by the cyber-crime unit as part of an investigation that started in January 2025 following complaints about X's algorithm and the content it recommended. (Image: X)

Elon Musk has reacted to the raid at X’s office in Paris on Tuesday, claiming the action was politically motivated.

Responding to a post by Global Government Affairs on X, Musk wrote, “This is a political attack."

Paris cybercrime unit raid X office

French judicial authorities raided X’s Paris office in connection with what X described as a “criminal investigation into alleged manipulation of algorithms and purported fraudulent data extraction."

The raid by by Paris cybercrime unit was part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including the spread of child sexual abuse images and deepfake content. Billionaire owner Elon Musk has also been summoned for questioning. The action comes amid growing scrutiny of Musk’s companies in Europe. 

Britain’s data privacy regulator has opened formal investigations into how X and Musk’s artificial intelligence firm xAI handled personal data while developing and deploying the chatbot Grok. Last month, Grok triggered global outrage after generating sexualised non-consensual deepfake images in response to user prompts on X.

What X said?

According to a statement shared by X’s Global Government Affairs account, the Paris Public Prosecutor’s office widely publicised the raid. The statement described the action as “an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives rather than advance legitimate law enforcement goals rooted in the fair and impartial administration of justice."

The statement said the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office was attempting to exert pressure on X’s senior management in the United States by targeting its French entity and employees, who were “not the focus of this investigation."

It added that the Prosecutor’s Office had ignored established procedural mechanisms to obtain evidence in compliance with international treaties and X’s right to defend itself. These mechanisms, the statement said, are regularly used by judicial authorities worldwide.

X denies any wrongdoing

X said the allegations behind the raid were baseless and that it “categorically denies any wrongdoing."

The company said the raid reinforced its view that the investigation distorted French law, bypassed due process, and endangered free speech.

The statement said X remained committed to defending its fundamental rights and the rights of its users.

“We will not be intimidated by the actions of French judicial authorities today," the statement added.

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