Americans living in France are asked about Donald Trump

When it comes to politics, the French appear to exercise free speech rights with more consistency than many Americans are comfortable with. I recall one visit to Paris when the husband of our hotel concierge identified my husband as an American who is fluent in French.  He got himself off of his couch potato position seated in the hotel's small lounge to give my husband a long lecture in French about why it was so stupid for Americans to fight in Vietnam....he talked on and on for over 20 minutes, while my husband, who is a Vietnam war veteran, patiently and politely listened.

This echo report was published in The Connexion newsletter by 

Sujena Soumyanath

Americans in France on being asked 'are you for Trump❓'

Democrats and Republicans tell of conversations ranging from rewarding to challenging.

Ruth Miller’s backpack is worth a thousand words.

This Brittany resident, 71, carries on her back a bag with a picture of US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s face. Next to Ocasio-Cortez, in white letters, reads “a woman’s place is in the resistance.”

Miller, who moved to France from the US in 2015, has had the backpack for about two years and decorated it herself. Since then, she says more than half the time she goes out with it, someone comments on the bag’s display of American politics.

Miller is far from the only American in France to find themselves repeatedly unpacking US politics. Americans from both sides of the political spectrum say moving to France has sparked frequent, sometimes unexpected discussions about their home country.

The conversations come at a time when more Americans are moving to France. At the same time, according to an early 2026 poll, French respondents said they increasingly view the US under Trump as an enemy country. As a result, for some Americans in the Hexagon, sharing their nationality with a French person quickly sparks a discussion about everything from the electoral college and gerrymandering to New York mayor Zohran Mamdani. Or, their interlocutor may skip the chatter entirely, and ask, ‘you’re not for Trump, are you?’

At the heart of these interactions lies a key cultural difference. A 2025 Alliance Francaise article notes that while Americans prefer more casual small talk, the French enter quickly into deep, bold topics.

Members of the US Republican party in France find the French not only question their political affiliations, they sometimes challenge them, said Republicans Overseas France media director Paul Reen. The organization has about 200 members.

“Unfortunately, many French people think Trump is racist and fascist and sexist, so they just get angry and walk away,” Reen told The Connexion.

Despite this, there’s a growing number of French people willing to have an open dialogue and migrating to the right, he said.

Reen noted French people bring up a wide range of global-facing US policy issues, like tariffs, Ukraine, Palestine and, more recently, the Iran War. Most share similar opinions - from condemning the Iran War to supporting Palestine.

“The minority will stay and listen,” Reen said. “The majority just get angry.”

Leila Meresman, spokesperson for Democrats Abroad France, said American politics remain a fixture of French fascination: “I don't think a day goes by when I talk to French people [...] where somebody will not ask me once they figure out that I'm American, ‘what the heck is going on with Trump and the US administration❓’”

Democrats Abroad France does not publish membership numbers per country, spokesperson Amy Porter said.

Meresman noted that French people are “extremely well informed” and it's always a pleasure for her to talk about politics. However, that was not the case for one American who contacted The Connexion last June.

“I am fed up with having to be responsible for and explain my native country’s decisions to people in France,” the reader wrote.

A master’s student in Paris from the US, Micah Polsky said some people immediately ask them if they support Trump.

“That’s not how you start a conversation,” they said.

Still, Polsky told The Connexion that they enjoy discussing politics and explaining how the US government works. They have even developed some “canned responses” to explain concepts like the voting system that come up often.

Addressing the Trump question is particularly tricky for members of the Republican party.

“'Oh you’re American, you don’t like Trump I hope’ - that's how a Frenchman will start the conversation,” Reen said. “So you’re immediately on your backfoot.”

It is an experience Republicans coming from the States don’t expect at first, Reen said. He suggested joining groups like Republicans Overseas France and having some facts ready to share in a discussion.

From there usually sparks one of the many conversations she has had with French people over the years about the US. Sometimes it’s someone expressing support for Ocasio-Cortez. Other times, it’s a person asking her about the presidential election. She’s even discussed politics with her doctor and veterinarian here in France.

“I’m always happy to talk about it,” said Miller, who is active with Democrats Abroad Brittany. “I feel like it’s part of my responsibility.”

“Try to stay friendly and don't get confrontational,” he said. “Maybe you can change some hearts and minds.”

While in France political discussions spark frequently, in a 2024, survey by the American Psychology Association, 72％ of US adults polled said they hoped to avoid discussing politics with their family over the holidays. That was shortly after the divisive election that sealed Trump’s second term.

Christopher Davis, a Franco-American teacher in Lille, has integrated that election’s results into his teaching. He often explains the American political situation to his post graduate-level students and said they are curious about everything from immigration, to understanding the Republican voter base.

In the wake of Trump's re-election and his tariffs on Europe, some Americans worried about their safety when visiting France. A tourist interviewed by BBC last year said he covered the US flag logo on his hat before stepping out in Paris.

Most Americans The Connexion spoke to said they haven’t encountered any politics-related hostility.

“People have the ability to differentiate a citizen from the government,” Davis said. He added that making an effort to speak French and respecting the local culture greatly improves Americans’ perception in France.

As a word of advice for those less willing to discuss politics: “you’re allowed to say, this isn’t really my area of expertise,” Polsky said.

According to a recent analysis cited last year by BBC, the US expat community in France is overwhelmingly pessimistic about their home country’s future. But for Davis, like many others, the chance to talk about the US situation is more of an opportunity than a burden.

“I'm sad for my country, in a sense, where I don't recognize the direction we're taking,” he said. “That's why I feel that it's important to explain it, rather than to just let it by.”

A French echo - President Elect Biden and European allies

By Liv Rowland echo opinion published in The Connexion: French news and views.  

“Generally speaking, the Trump administration hasn’t shown much consideration for its allies,” said Anne- Lorraine Bujon, who is also editor of French current affairs magazine Esprit.

“European countries felt he disdained them – giving the impression he thought NATO was obsolete."

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

...."And in commerce he has almost treated them as his enemies."

“In the case of France, there was a sense at the start that Macron was trying to create some kind of personal link with Trump, speaking ‘man to man’, to allow us nonetheless to continue working with the US on areas of common interest – which are numerous: the climate, the fight against terrorism, coordination between intelligence services, the fight against nuclear proliferation…"

“I recall a visit to America when Macron had hoped for a gesture from Trump on the Iran nuclear deal [intended to prevent development of nuclear weapons there], but he obtained nothing. After that, France took a more realistic position as to what it could – or could not – expect from them."

Hope for a better Franco-American relationship

“They aimed rather to limit the damage so the Franco-American relationship was ruined as little as possible by Trump’s (chaotic!) style of (failed!) leadership.” (Maine Writer comments in parenthesis) 

Ms. Bujon said most analysts are now “very relieved” that Biden will be president and hope to see better relations with Europe and France. However, she said Franco-American relations have never been as good as they were before the early 2000s and the clash over the Iraq war. So, while relations should be more “normal” again, they will not necessarily be as good as under Obama, and relations then were not as warm as in the last century.

The issue of fairer taxation of the digital giants is among several where it is hoped Mr. Biden will see more eye to eye with President Macron. Mr. Trump had threatened retaliation against French products when France pushed for this.

“Biden said in a recent article that the US must again lead the free world to face up to big challenges of the 21st century, including climate change, saying he would rejoin the Paris Agreement, which is very important, and the fight against nuclear proliferation, so we hope we will be able to work with them again on Iran – and what he called ‘disruptive technologies’. While he’s favourable to innovation, I think he supports more regulation of the digital sector, which is a priority for the EU.”

However, Mr. Biden has also said he wants to focus on “repairing the US” and “will be much occupied by domestic challenges”, Ms. Bujon said.

In commercial relations, Trump was seen as “protectionist and nationalist”. Mr. Biden is likely to be “more multilateral and respectful of alliances and rules”. However, he will still be “protective” of US interests, especially those of middle class Americans.

Ms. Bujon does not expect to see negotiations on an overall EU-US trade deal, which halted under Trump, relaunched. She said, in reality, there are few tariff barriers between the two and negotiations were more on overall regulatory convergence, which had proved complicated.

“I think we could move towards more convergence, on health, the environment, the digital sector… but I doubt it’s a top priority for Biden or the EU to relaunch the talks [on an overall deal].”
Mr. Biden and Mr. Macron are politically 'very close'

Mr. Biden and Mr. Macron are politically “very close”, Ms. Bujon said, which should help the relationship between the two.

“We must also not forget he has Irish origins. US foreign politics swung towards Asia under President Obama, but Biden is part of a generation for whom American influence was built firstly with Europe. He also says he wants to re-establish a ‘club of the democracies’ against authoritarian regimes. I’m thinking of China and Russia. He knows he needs Europe for that.

“I once shook his hand at an Ifri (Institut français des relations internationales) event, at the time of the Iraq War. I remember him as being extremely funny and warm, determined to repair the transatlantic relationship and well-disposed towards France.

“And if we look at his team of foreign affairs advisers, there are a number of younger, brilliant advisers who speak French fluently, like Antony Blinken [who lived in Paris as a child].”


We must also not assume that everything will be repaired with the wave of a magic wand

She said Europe would have to be prudent if Mr Biden was to create a “new Cold War” with China, and expected Europe and France to take sides. “We must maintain our ability to negotiate independently with China,” she said.

“We must also not assume that everything will be repaired with the wave of a magic wand. Europe is no longer necessarily the main concern of America and it is time for us to take ourselves in hand as a strategic power. The relationship with the US will be all the more fruitful if we take initiatives and don’t expect everything to come from America.

“The first thing to look for is for Biden to follow through with his promise about the Paris agreement – he said he would rejoin ‘on day one’. But we will have to be patient, as he only takes office on January 20.”