The private sector has an excessive impact on US policy, said the French President Emmanuel Macron.

He reiterated his desire for Europe to propose an intermediate route between the state-controlled economy of China and the model of non-intervention by the US, Reuters reported.

“The United States are a formidable continent but they have a model which is completely steered by big private sector players and which is no longer subject to democratic checks and balances,” he noted.
According to him, Europe should be the global standard bearer for tougher regulation of digital technology, finding a way between what he calls an excessively lax US and an over-restrictive China.

He calls on tech companies to do more for the “common good” in society, spearheading European efforts to force Google , Amazon, Facebook Inc and Apple Inc (GAFAs) to pay more tax at the source of revenue.

“In Europe we are building a model that is competitive, innovative ... that is democratic and driven by the common good,” the Frenc President added.

Silicon Valley investors, however, warned Macron that he risks undoing the work he has done to make France more attractive if he is too aggressive in using the tax, and there are also differences between EU allies too.