In front of the ambassadors gathered this Monday, January 6 at the Élysée, the Head of State returned to the victory of Donald Trump who will return to the White House on January 20. “If we decide to be weak and defeatist, there is little chance of being respected” by the billionaire, judged Emmanuel Macron.
No standoff for the moment, just a few weeks after their reunion at Notre-Dame. Emmanuel Macron returned during his wishes to the ambassadors this Monday, January 6 at the Élysée on the return of Donald Trump to power on January 20 during his inauguration.
He “knows that he has a solid ally in France, an ally whom he does not despise,” judged the head of state.
“It’s up to us to know how to cooperate”
“From 2016 to 2020, France knew how to work with President Trump,” Emmanuel Macron further underlined while relations were often tense between Paris and Washington during the billionaire's first term.
“If we decide to be weak and defeatist, there is little chance of being respected by the United States of America of President Trump,” however, warned the French leader.
“It’s up to us to know how to cooperate with the choice that was made by the American people,” he insisted again during the annual meeting of ambassadors.
A return of Trump to a weakened Europe
As soon as Donald Trump's victory against Kamala Harris last November 6, Emmanuel Macron's entourage made it known that he would “obviously work with the new American administration” while recalling “the importance of European sovereignty” in the face of in Washington.
The return of Donald Trump takes place in a context of weakening of the European Union which could be notably strengthened by the large increase in customs duties on products from Europe promised by the new president of the United States.
Just a few days after the results of the American elections, Emmanuel Macron had already set the tone, suggesting future tense exchanges. Present in Budapest alongside the Secretary General of NATO, the tenant of the Élysée called for an acceleration of the development of European defense with a formula heavy with implications.
“For me, it's simple. The world is made up of herbivores and carnivores. If we decide to remain herbivores, the carnivores will win and we will be a market for them,” said the French president.
A chance for Emmanuel Macron
But tensions seemed to have gone down a notch when Notre-Dame reopened last December. Donald Trump chose Paris for his first international trip since his re-election.
The gesture, very symbolic, was coupled with a tripartite meeting between Emmanuel Macron, the American leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, more than ever looking for an agreement with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Enough to allow Emmanuel Macron, in great difficulty on the domestic scene, to position himself as a negotiator in the conflict between kyiv and Moscow while scoring points with Donald Trump.
In recent months, the American has not spared the tenant of the Élysée, accusing him in the middle of a meeting of China's “ass licking” or making fun of his American accent during an imitation of a phone call that the two men allegedly had together.
