Macron vs Trump: the penultimate round
The French head of state, who will receive his U.S. counterpart at Versailles on Wednesday, has patiently borne and dodged his attacks so as not to break ties with a key ally: ‘I am pragmatic, not vindictive’
French President Emmanuel Macron has been receiving attacks from Donald Trump for months, or rather for years. These attacks have also been personal: about his wife, his supposedly soft character, NATO… But you have to pick your battles. There were two ways to approach the issue: by trading blows or dodging them. The French head of state used diplomacy to steer the relationship where Europe needed it to secure certain fronts, especially concerning the war in Ukraine. This G-7 summit will put that strategy to the test. In particular, the state dinner that France will host with Trump at Versailles to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Almost exactly a year ago, Donald Trump stormed out of the G-7 summit in Canada, at a time when the tension in the Middle East was unbearable. On Monday, June 15, 2026, with the overall global backdrop somewhat more favorable, the meeting of the Group of Seven (Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, France, Italy and Japan) opened in Évian-les-Bains, in France’s Haute-Savoie department, on the shores of Lake Geneva.
The U.S. president is attending this time and is not expected to bolt. Macron, just in case, has worked hard to secure that. His efforts will culminate in the state dinner honoring the 250th anniversary of American independence on Wednesday night at Versailles, which ensures Trump’s attendance and also offers a chance to smooth over outstanding issues. “If I were vindictive, it would cause me problems. I am pragmatic. I only have one shirt, the French national team’s; we’re playing at home here,” Macron said in an interview last Monday when asked about the patience he has shown.
The relationship, however, has been highly contested. But no one in senior French diplomatic circles doubts its effectiveness. “Since 2017, Macron has not taken blows passively, he has managed the relationship, responding to the substance of issues when there is disagreement and addressing core matters while keeping contact, which seems to me the right approach in general and, above all, with the United States,” said Philippe Étienne, France’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2019 to 2023 and an expert on the ties between the two countries.
Many saw Trump’s attacks as one of the lowest points in relations between the two countries. One of the people who knows those ups and downs best — the former prime minister and foreign minister during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq — does not think they are comparable. “I would not say relations are low, because with Trump I don’t know what the rule is,” he told this newspaper a few weeks ago. “Relations with Macron are simultaneously very close. He is one of the Europeans who speaks with him the most, but at the same time he is a target because Trump enjoys humiliating him and settling scores with him. But he does that with everyone. France has a strong diplomatic position, and perhaps for that reason it is more attacked.”
The ball is now closer to the goal that European diplomacy has been seeking for months. Talks these days will focus on the cease-fire agreement between the United States and Iran, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, whose security could be guaranteed with the participation of France and the United Kingdom. Macron also hopes to secure a more receptive stance from Trump toward Kyiv and a less favorable one toward Putin to bring an end to the war in Ukraine; macroeconomic global imbalances will also be addressed. “The method has always been the same: we express our differences frankly while choosing to work together in a clear manner. Communication can then remain very fluid between the presidents. This in no way prevents clarity and, when necessary, firmness, an approach that I believe France also constantly recommends in relations between the European Union and its major partners, including the United States and China,” Étienne said.
The occupant of the Élysée has been delicately balancing the relationship with his U.S. counterpart in recent months. For a long time he presented himself as Trump’s privileged interlocutor in Europe, and he has more recently shown his opposition to measures such as the tariffs. Above all, he has never engaged in the public controversies stirred by Trump. Étienne believes this method allows not only for asserting France’s positions, “but also for achieving results with our U.S. partner, such as the continuation of active counterterrorism cooperation under Trump’s first term and the resumption of dialogue between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents, as well as the more recent preparation of volunteer coalitions.”
Étienne insists the Versailles dinner was planned in advance and is not part of any attempt at courting Trump. “It is part of the framework of the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, knowing that France played an essential role in that independence and that the Palace of Versailles was precisely the place where the Franco-American alliance was forged at the time,” he said. But officials at the Élysée trust it will also serve to improve relations and achieve diplomatic objectives.
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