US Space Companies Withdraw from French Space Summit Amid White House Pressure

Several prominent US space companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, have pulled out of a high-profile French space summit organized by President Emmanuel Macron. The decision comes after the White House allegedly pressured the companies to skip the event. The companies, which had been invited to the summit, have largely withdrawn without commenting publicly. The move has caused diplomatic turmoil in the usually genteel world of international space policy. The French summit is not part of the traditional circuit of international space conferences, and US industry had expressed concerns about the meeting.