The Government of France has accentuated its distancing from the Donald Trump Administration. The latest unfortunate statements by the American president against his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macronalong with the war in Iran, which has impacted the French economy, has cooled relations between both countries to the point that the The Bank of France announced this week the withdrawal of all its gold reserves from the US.
In New York there were a total of 129 tons of the gold metal, which account for 5% of all French reserves, the fourth largest on the planet. According to the bank itself, France had been withdrawing bullion for nearly 20 years but the institution recognizes that the process has accelerated with Trump’s return to the White House. Far from generating alarm in the markets, the operation has had a positive impact on the French coffers, achieving extraordinary income of 14.76 billion dollars just to sell those tons in the US, to later buy a similar amount of bullion for its national reserves.
This movement marks a progressive abandonment of a practice inherited from World War II which, in its day, allowed countries to sell quickly, obtain dollars and thereby facilitate global trade. France is not an isolated case; the India It has also repatriated 274 tons of gold since 2023, and the Netherlands, which was the first to make the decision, has been doing so since 2013.
An entrenched relationship
The relationship between Macron and Trump has been marked by intermittency and mistrust. Despite the diplomatic patience of the Elysee Palace, the recent statements by the American president were the last straw for those in Macron, who until then avoided responding to any provocation coming from the other side of the pond.
During a private lunch at the White House, Trump threw a barb at his French counterpart: “Macron, whom his wife treats terribly… “He is still recovering from the punch he received in the jaw,” could be heard in a video posted on the presidency’s YouTube channel, which was removed moments later. The French president was quick to respond: “He is neither elegant nor up to the task. (…) It does not deserve a response,” he declared from Seoul, during his state visit to South Korea.
Beyond the personal, there are also two visions of leadership. After France’s refusal to participate in the military operation in Iran, the threats mixed with disinformation Through social networks they have been Trump’s weapon. Recently, the Republican criticized a France “uncooperative” and noted that the country had closed its airspace to United States aircraft. The French Foreign Ministry quickly denied the information, reiterating its refusal to use French infrastructure in the war against Iran.
An ambassador in rebellion
He controversial Trump style It has also moved to the diplomatic field. Your ambassador in France, Charles Kushnerhas been the author and protagonist of several diplomatic crises. The last, after the murder in Lyon of the far-right activist Quentin Deranque, which generated significant political tension in the country.
Kushner suggested through his social media that the crime was linked to “left-wing extremism.” Some statements that were interpreted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as “interference in the country’s internal affairs”, something that exceeds the functions of an ambassador.
The French Government summoned the diplomat but, as had happened on previous occasions, Kushner did not appear. In response, Paris took an unusual measure among allies: restricted the access of the American ambassador to senior executive officials.
The repatriation of gold, tensions between leaders and diplomatic crises reflect a clear erosion of the relationship between two historical allies. The fight between Paris and Washington is of particular concern to strategic business sectorswho see how this distancing in an already unstable international context becomes a dangerous game.
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