The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, attracted attention in Davos this Tuesday (20) when he took the stage at the World Economic Forum wearing aviator-style sunglasses.
The choice of accessory raised doubts about his health and the political message he wanted to convey, precisely on the day he made some of his harshest comments against US trade policy under Donald Trump.
Days earlier, Macron had already publicly explained that the swollen and reddened eye was the result of a “completely harmless” condition.
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In a speech to soldiers at the Istres air base, in the south of France, he apologized for the “not pleasant appearance” and said that the problem was benign, in a good-humored tone.
On the same occasion, he played with the song “Eye of the Tiger”, the theme from the film Rocky IIIsaying that the “tiger’s eye” could be seen as a sign of determination.
In Davos, however, the tone was much more serious. Macron took advantage of the stage to defend greater European autonomy and directly criticize Washington’s commercial pressures.
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The statements came after Trump published, on his social networks, alleged private messages sent by Macron, in which the Frenchman praises American cooperation in the Middle East, but says he “does not understand” the US president’s insistence on trying to acquire Greenland.
In his speech in Davos, the French leader indirectly returned criticism by saying that “we prefer respect to bullies” and “the rule of law over brutality”, drawing laughter from the audience when he opened his speech with the phrase “it is a time of peace, stability and predictability”.
