French President Emmanuel Macron has downplayed mocking remarks by US leader Donald Trump about his marriage, insisting the comments fall short of diplomatic standards and do not deserve a response.
Speaking during an official visit to Seoul alongside his wife, Brigitte, Macron dismissed the controversy, saying the priority should remain global stability rather than personal exchanges.
“So I am not going to respond to them — they do not merit a response,” he said, describing the remarks as “neither elegant nor up to standard”.
The French leader, however, signalled growing frustration over broader geopolitical tensions, particularly surrounding the Middle East crisis and divisions within NATO.
“There is too much talk, and it’s all over the place,” Macron said.
“We all need stability, calm, a return to peace — this isn’t a show!”
Trump had, during a private lunch on Wednesday, ridiculed Macron while criticising NATO allies over their stance on the Iran conflict. The US president imitated a French accent and alleged that Macron’s wife “treats him extremely badly,” adding that the French leader was still “recovering from the right to the jaw”.
In a video later shared on the White House YouTube channel before being taken down, Trump doubled down on the remarks.
“We didn’t need them, but I asked anyway,” he said.
“I call up France, Macron — whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw.”
The comments referenced a 2025 video involving Brigitte Macron, which the French president had previously dismissed as misleading, insisting there was no “domestic dispute” and that they were “joking as we often do”.
Trump also recounted a conversation with Macron over military support in the Gulf.
“And I said, ‘Emmanuel, we’d love to have some help in the Gulf even though we’re setting records on knocking out bad people and knocking out ballistic missiles. We’d love to have some help. If you could, could you please send ships immediately,’” he said.
He then mimics a French accent to give Macron’s alleged answer: “‘No no no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won,’” he said.
“I said, ‘No no, I don’t need after the war is won Emmanuel,’” Trump added.
“So I learned about NATO — NATO won’t be there if we ever have the big one, you know what I mean by the big one.”
He further described NATO as a “paper tiger,” reinforcing criticism from his administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently said Washington “is going to have to reexamine” its relationship with the alliance after the Iran conflict.
Despite the personal nature of Trump’s remarks, Macron’s response has been measured, shifting attention back to diplomacy and de-escalation efforts in the Middle East.
The episode, however, has sparked outrage within France, where political leaders across party lines condemned the tone of the US president’s comments.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, said: “Honestly, it’s not up to par.”
“We are currently discussing the future of the world. Right now in Iran, this is having consequences for the lives of millions of people, people are dying on the battlefield, and we have a president who is laughing, who is mocking others,” she said.
Even opposition figure Manuel Bompard defended Macron despite political differences.
“You are aware of the extent of my disagreements with the president, but for Donald Trump to speak to him like that and to speak of his wife in such a manner — I find that absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
French newspaper Le Figaro described the episode as “Another controversial outburst from Donald Trump,” underscoring the diplomatic strain triggered by the exchange.
