Seoul (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that Donald Trump’s mocking comments about his marriage did not merit a response, calling them “neither elegant nor up to standard.” However, after days of tensions over US-Israeli strikes on Iran and issues regarding NATO, an apparently irritated Macron launched a broadside of his own, stating that “there is too much talk” and “this is not a show.”
On Wednesday, Trump made fun of the French president and his wife at a private lunch while criticizing NATO allies for not joining the war against Iran. The US president imitated a French accent and claimed that Macron’s wife “treats him extremely badly,” adding that Macron was still “recovering from the right to the jaw.”
During a visit to Seoul, Macron, who was accompanied by his wife Brigitte, responded by saying Trump’s comments were “neither elegant nor up to standard.” “So I am not going to respond to them — they do not merit a response,” Macron told reporters. He emphasized that the focus should instead be on “work towards de-escalation” in the Middle East and achieving a ceasefire.
“There is too much talk, and it’s all over the place,” the French president remarked, apparently referring to numerous policy U-turns made by Trump. “We all need stability, calm, a return to peace — this isn’t a show!” he added.
Trump’s latest attacks against Macron angered French politicians. “Honestly, it’s not up to par,” said Yael Braun-Pivet, president of France’s lower house of parliament. “We are currently discussing the future of the world. Right now in Iran, this is having consequences for the lives of millions of people; people are dying on the battlefield, and we have a president who is laughing, who is mocking others,” she told franceinfo.
Even Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the hard-left France Unbowed party, who is often critical of the president, rushed to Macron’s defense. “You are aware of the extent of my disagreements with the president, but for Donald Trump to speak to him like that and to speak of his wife in such a manner — I find that absolutely unacceptable,” Bompard told broadcaster BFMTV. Conservative French daily Le Figaro commented: “Another controversial outburst from Donald Trump.”
In his mocking remarks, Trump referred to a video posted briefly on the White House YouTube channel before access was blocked. “We didn’t need them, but I asked anyway,” Trump said. He claimed, “I call up France, Macron — whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw,” referring to a May 2025 news video that purportedly showed Brigitte Macron shoving the French president’s face during a trip to Vietnam, which Macron later rejected as part of a disinformation campaign.
At that time, Macron denied any “domestic dispute” with his wife, stating they were “joking as we often do.” Trump continued, recalling a conversation regarding NATO: “And I said, ‘Emmanuel, we’d love to have some help in the Gulf even though we’re setting records on knocking out bad people and knocking out ballistic missiles. We’d love to have some help. If you could, could you please send ships immediately?'”
He then mimicked a French accent to portray Macron’s alleged response: “‘No no no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won,'” he recounted. “I said, ‘No no, I don’t need after the war is won, Emmanuel,'” Trump added.
Furthermore, he stated, “So I learned about NATO — NATO won’t be there if we ever have the big one, you know what I mean by the big one,” without elaborating. Trump also branded NATO a “paper tiger,” marking the latest criticism from him and his top officials against the transatlantic alliance since he returned to the White House last year. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States “is going to have to reexamine” its relationship with NATO once the war against Iran has concluded.
© 2024 AFP
