French EU commissioner Thierry Breton resigns amid dispute with president after threatening Elon Musk

France's European Union commissioner Thierry Breton abruptly resigned on Monday amid an ongoing dispute with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. He was slated to serve a second term after being re-appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron, The Guardian reports.

Breton stated in a resignation letter that von der Leyen had asked for his name to be withdrawn "for personal reasons that in no instance you [von der Leyen] have discussed directly with me," adding "In light of these recent developments – further testimony to questionable governance – I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties."

In addition, Breton quipped about his resignation on X by posting a picture of an empty frame hanging on a wall and writing "Breaking news: my official portrait for the next European Commission term."

Later in the day, France chose Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne to be the new candidate for EU commissioner, per Reuters.

Von der Leyen is expected to announce her finalized team of commissioners for the executive branch of the EU this week but has been criticized for taking too long. Her goal of having a "gender-balanced" lineup has caused political rows in other member countries such as Slovenia after she pressured its government to withdraw a male candidate.

In August, Breton wrote a strongly worded letter to Elon Musk, threatening "to make full use of our toolbox" if his platform X would not comply with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) "to protect EU citizens from serious harm." He posted the letter to X and tagged Musk, writing "with great audience comes greater responsibility #DSA As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in [the EU] in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to
@elonmusk."