French President Emmanuel Macron attracted attention at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland when he took to the stage wearing distinctive aviator sunglasses during his appearance on Tuesday.
The French president has been battling an eye disease which he has described as “completely harmless”.
Macron wore the sunglasses during his Davos speech to protect his eyes after suffering a burst blood vessel, the Elysee Palace said.
Macron had addressed the issue several days earlier after he was spotted wearing sunglasses during an outdoor troop inspection at a military base in Istres, southern France.
Speaking at the time, he opened his New Year’s address to France’s armed forces by referring directly to his appearance. “Excuse the ugly look of my eye. It’s completely harmless, of course,” he said.
He went on to add with humor: “Just watch an accidental reference to ‘Eye of the Tiger’ … For those who catch the reference, it’s a sign of determination,” an apparent nod to American rock band Survivor’s hit song from the 1982 film Rocky III, starring Sylvester Stallone, according to The independent.
At Davos, Macron struck a firmer tone on global politics and trade. “We prefer respect to thugs,” he said, adding: “And we prefer the rule of law to brutality.”
He described the US’s “endless accumulation” of new tariffs as “fundamentally unacceptable”, especially when used “as leverage against territorial sovereignty”.
Macron said the EU should not bow to the “law of the strong” and called it “crazy” that the bloc was forced to consider using its “anti-coercive instrument” against the United States.
The speech came after Donald Trump threatened high tariffs on French wine and champagne and released private messages exchanged with Macron, an unusual breach of diplomatic convention. Trump shared screenshots of the exchange on his Truth Social account.
In the messages, which a source close to Macron said were authentic, Macron told Trump: “I don’t understand what you’re doing in Greenland,” and offered to host a G7 meeting, inviting Russia and others. Neither Trump nor the French source said when the messages were sent.
Trump had previously promised to impose a wave of escalating tariffs from February 1 on several European allies, including France, until Washington is allowed to acquire Greenland – a move that major EU states have condemned as blackmail.
— Additional input from Reuters.
