French President Emmanuel Macron turned heads Tuesday by delivering his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, while wearing mirrored aviator sunglasses.
While the accessory draws comparisons to former President Joe Biden’s signature look, Macron explained the choice was a practical necessity rather than a stylistic one.
The French leader said he is battling a “completely harmless” but “unsightly” eye condition, reportedly a burst blood vessel, that has left his eye red, puffy, and sensitive to bright stage lights.
Macron joked during a New Year’s military address earlier this week that the look was an “unintentional reference to [1982 Survivor song] ‘Eye of the Tiger’” and a sign of his “determination” for the year ahead.
Despite the “cool” exterior, the substance of Macron’s speech in Davos was a fiery and pointed defense of European independence.
Macron used his time on the world stage to warn against a global shift toward the “law of the strongest,” and argued that the world is facing instability and a battle between democracy and autocracy.
“Without collective governance, cooperation gives way to relentless competition,” Macron said. “Competition from the United States of America through trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concession, and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe.”
Macron also called President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs “unacceptable” when used as political leverage.
His address follows threats to deploy Europe’s “trade bazooka,” an economic tool that provides a legal framework for the bloc to defend its sovereign policy choices against any non-European Union country using economic intimidation, such as tariffs or quotas, to interfere with EU affairs.
“We must refuse to be the vassals of anyone,” Macron told the crowd of global elites on Tuesday.
MACRON SWIPES AT ‘IMPERIAL AMBITIONS’ WITHOUT MENTIONING TRUMP IN DAVOS SPEECH
He also called for a “sovereign Europe” that can act as a balancing power between the U.S. and China.
He said that Europe must not be forced to choose sides in a new Cold War but should instead focus on its own economic and technological autonomy.
