The Trump administration has sent a letter to some large French companies warning them to comply with an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

The letter, sent by the American embassy in Paris, stated that Trump’s executive order applied to companies outside the US if they were a supplier or service provider to the American government, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The embassy also sent a questionnaire that ordered the companies to attest to their compliance. The document, which the Financial Times has seen, is titled “certification regarding compliance with applicable federal anti-discrimination law”.

The document says “Department of State contractors must certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable anti-discrimination laws and agree that such certification is material for purposes of the government’s payment decision and therefore subject to the False Claims Act.”

The documents appear to signal that the Trump administration is widening its campaign against DEI to foreign companies after launching a crackdown against US media groups such as Disney.