French presidency calls out 'fake news' after Trump drug comments

"President Emmanuel Macron's office hit back at Donald Trump after his US counterpart claimed he had increased drug prices in France under threat of US tariffs. Trump has in recent months been announcing pricing deals with drug companies, convincing them to commit to "Most Favored Nation" pricing: matching the lowest price offered in other wealthy nations. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, the US leader claimed he had strong-armed Macron into agreeing to higher prices in France."

""It's being claimed that President @EmmanuelMacron increased the price of medicines," the French president's office wrote on X. "He does not set their prices," it added, in a post accompanied by a meme of Trump with the words "fake news". "They are regulated by the social security system and have, in fact, remained stable. Anyone who has set foot in a French pharmacy knows this," it said. In Davos, Trump made fun of Macron for wearing aviator sunglasses - due to a burst blood vessel - during his own speech on Tuesday."

"Trump spoke of his "Most Favored Nation" drug deals, which drugmakers have been making on a voluntary basis in exchange for incentives including tariff relief. He seemed to imply foreign countries like France were to blame for sky-high prices in the United States. In reality, high medicine prices in the US are due to a combination of powerful health insurance companies and the lack of government regulation. He said a drug that cost $10 in London "cost $130 in New York or in Los Angeles"."

Donald Trump claimed at the World Economic Forum that his Most Favored Nation pricing deals pressured France to raise drug prices, asserting that America had been subsidising other nations. The French presidency responded on X, saying Macron does not set medicine prices, that prices are regulated by the social security system, and that they have remained stable, accompanied by a "fake news" meme. Trump mocked Macron's aviator sunglasses at Davos. The report notes that US medicine prices are driven by powerful health insurers and lack of government regulation, while Trump contrasted a $10 London price with a $130 US price.

Read at The Local France