The French Judiciary Says, “Grok This, Elon”
May 11, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
Some countries want to make life difficult for American tech bros. Russia is pestering Telegram’s users, contractors, vendors, and plyushka serving cafés. France has Pavel Durov on a leash, and now wants to speak with the world’s richest man and tireless proponent of living on Mars, the moon, wherever.
Thanks, MidJourney. Your interface tweaks are indeed baffling. But, as always, good enough.
“French Prosecutors Escalate Probe of Elon Musk and X to Criminal Investigation” makes clear that Elon may want to reconsider a quick trip to Lyon to dine at L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges. (It’s not a meal; it’s a production by the way.) The write up states:
French cybercrime authorities have escalated an investigation of Elon Musk and his social network X to a criminal probe, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Thursday. Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino were issued summons by French authorities for April 20. Both of them declined to appear and answer questions, according to the prosecutor’s office. In February, Musk called the probe a “political attack,” after French authorities raided the Paris office of X.
If anyone needs a social media professional in Paris, my hunch is that the French nationals working for Elon may be open to employment options. Why? France is not the US of A as many American visitors discover when deplaning and heading for a dream vacation in Arles.
The French authorities can identify employees of a company owned by Elon and pick from these administrative tools to further their investigation. Here is a selected list of judiciary buttons and levers:
- Apply pressure through mutual legal assistance. An email usually does the job. The news story points out: “Other international jurisdictions are also investigating X and Grok, as is the California attorney general’s office.” The US government is not going to cooperate, but that left coast golden bear state is in the hunt.
- Summon employees to be questioned in a cheerful judiciary facility and, if warranted, do the garde à vue for a period of time
- Search and search again: Offices, employee homes, digital records, email, financial records. Then the judiciary can repeat the searches to ensure thoroughness.
The cited news story reports:
The probe, requested by French Member of Parliament Éric Bothorel in early 2025, has focused on complaints of algorithmic manipulation by X to influence and interfere in French politics, and allegations that Musk and X knowingly allowed users of the AI chatbot Grok to create and spread Holocaust denials and nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfake images on X.
Elon perceives the investigation as political. He’s right. Politics is France. Bureaucracy is France. Outrage over untoward images is France. But the French judiciary just chugs along because it has the reputation of taking direct action: The phone thing, the arrest and possible ruination of Telegram, and now Elon. I suppose one could ask Grok how long can a criminal proceeding endure in France? My recollection is that a Maurice Papon’s legal hassle lasted from 1981 (the date of my first visit to France) to 1998 (the date of my first visit to Dassault Exalead). I remember this because the newspapers ran the Papon story’s kick off and touchdown coincident with my visits. That’s why I recalled this particular judiciary gauntlet.
One can say, “It’s political.” I would point out that the judiciary’s clock is not powered by French national or regional elections. I think this is a characteristic worth noting. Several other observations are warranted:
- As Pavel Durov and the phone folks have discovered, other jurisdictions follow along behind the French judiciary in certain matters. International crime and allegations of CSAM are of interest to Europol, EU member states, and, as Durov has learned, outliers like Russia. Thus, containment is now difficult for the Elon matter.
- The EU is likely to initiate its own actions. Like it or not, allegations of certain types of illicit imagery are sure fire vote getters. Therefore, the Elon matter is likely to become more political in more jurisdictions over time
- Sympathy for certain BAIT (big AI tech) companies is waning. Anti-American sentiment is evident in a number of European countries. Even in Montpellier, the attitude is, “Bring money and then leave” for some American people and businesses.
Net net: One can use the “tech bros are the new aristocracy” approach in the US. I am not sure the attitude is congruent with the French judiciary’s expectation of appropriate responses to formal orders. (The J3 crowd, based on my information, is not amused by some Silicon Valley methods.)
Stephen E Arnold, May 11, 2026
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