French finance minister warns of American economic domination amid Russia-Ukraine conflict

The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the resulting energy crisis could lead to American economic domination, warned French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Monday.

Speaking to the French National Assembly, Le Maire said he feared the United States (US) could benefit from the situation to the detriment of European interests.

According to Le Maire, the US sells its liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe at "four times" the price at which it sells to American suppliers.

He insisted on the need to build "economic relations that are more balanced on the energy issue between our American allies and the European continent."

Le Maire's remarks came just days after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his dissatisfaction over LNG imported from the US and Norway.

Macron told the informal European Union Summit in Prague: "We are going to say with great friendship toward our American friends, our Norwegian friends, that 'you are great, you provide us with gas.' But there is one thing that can't work for a very long time, that is we can't pay for gas that is four times more expensive."

According to a BFMTV report, the US provides 500 million euros in aid to industrialists and farmers to encourage them to increase production.

The American arms industry could also benefit from the international context, BFMTV said. In March, Germany announced it had ordered 35 fighter jets from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin.