It’s not every day you’ll read the names Emmanuel Macron and Tom Cruise in the same sentence.
But the pair have drawn comparisons today after France’s president rocked up to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland wearing a pair of Top Gun-style aviator sunglasses.
He first wore the sunglasses – believed to be by the French brand Louis Vuitton – last week when inspecting members of France’s armed forces.
‘Please pardon the unsightly appearance of my eye. It is, of course, something completely harmless,’ he said.
‘Simply see an unintentional reference to the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ … For those who catch the reference, it is a sign of determination,’ he joked.
For those who didn’t catch the reference, that’s the theme song to the 1982 movie Rocky III, starring Sylvester Stallone.
Why was Macron wearing sunglasses?
During his visit to the army base last week, Macron’s eye appeared to be bloodshot and puffy.
It’s unclear what exactly the issue is, with his office stating that he has an eye condition.
Presumably it didn’t clear up over the weekend, which is why France’s leader decided to rock up as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell during Davos.
He likely made a calculation that looking like a washed-up rock star at the flashy event was preferable to looking like a bungling street fighter.
The stylish accessory – paired with his small quiff and sideburns – lent an unintended air of cool to his dire warning that we’re seeing ‘a shift towards a world without rules’.
But despite the slightly silly look, there was no doubt how serious he was about a future where ‘international law is trampled underfoot, and where the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest’.
Though he did not mention Donald Trump by name, Macron attacked ‘imperial ambitions’ that he said were resurfacing and told attendees he prefers ‘respect to bullies’.
Referencing the US President’s recent threats over Greenland, he condemned ‘an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable – even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty’.
Earlier today, Trump shared private messages from Macron with his Truth Social followers.
In them, the French President tells his ‘friend’ they are ‘totally in line on Syria’ and they ‘can do great things on Iran’, but adds: ‘I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.’
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