Gold reserves of France and India taken out of US

France and India have responded to the “geopolitical risks” posed by Donald Trump’s aggression and instability by repatriating massive gold reserves from the US. In France’s case, it has taken back its entire US-held reserve – and made a huge profit in the process. The gold had been there since WWII.

Gold out of America

France used a ‘sell-rebuy’ manoeuvre to offload 129 tonnes of gold held at the US Federal Reserve in New York and used the funds to immediately buy new gold at a profit of almost €13bn. India, which had already started the process in 2025 has physically moved another 64 tonnes just since the beginning of 2026.

Although the French government claimed the repatriation was “technical”, the moves come against a background of a flailing Trump threatening to punish countries he feels have not been supportive enough of his disastrous and illegal war of aggression, alongside Israel, on Iran.

Other central banks are considering following suit, including Germany’s Bundesbank, which currently holds a huge 1,236 tonnes of gold in the US. It fears that Trump has his eyes on it and that even if he does not try to grab it directly his unpredictability and his international aggression make it unsafe. Michael Jäger, head of the German Taxpayers’ Federation, which represents wealthy and tax-averse members and would normally be aligned with Trump’s focus on the wealthy and corporations, said German gold is “no longer safe” under Trump:

Trump is unpredictable, and he does everything to generate revenue. That’s why our gold is no longer safe in the Fed’s vaults.

The withdrawal of gold reserves is a further blow to Trump, who has spent hundreds of billions attacking Iran only to be forced to concede most of Iran’s demands in his desperate search for an off-ramp from his and Israel’s illegal, losing war.

Featured image via the Canary