Emmanuel Macron has hit back at Donald Trump after the US president mocked him for being shoved by his wife.
The French president said that Trump’s mocking comments were unworthy at a time of war, adding that his contradictory statements about the war in the Middle East and his anger toward Nato were unhelpful.
Trump’s comments came during a national address in Washington on Wednesday, in which he attacked Nato allies for not joining the Iran war, as well as putting on an accent and mocking Macron.
Speaking about approaching France for help on Iran, Trump said: “We didn’t need them, but I asked anyway. I call up France, Macron - whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw.”
Trump’s comments reference a video which went viral on social media in 2025, which appeared to show Macron being shoved in the face by his wife Brigitte as they prepared to disembark from a plane during an official visit to Vietnam.
At the time Macron denied any dispute with his wife, saying they were "just joking about as we do".
Upon arriving in South Korea on Thursday, Macron made clear his displeasure at Trump’s comments, telling reporters that Trump’s remarks were "neither elegant nor up to standard".
Clearly bristling, Macron added: “So I’m not going to respond to them; they don’t deserve a response.”
There has been anger in France following Trump’s comments, with Yael Braun-Pivet, the centrist president of France’s lower house of parliament, telling public broadcaster Franceinfo: “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.”
During Trump’s address, he said that he had urged France to send ships “immediately” but that the president had refused.
Attempting a French accent, Mr Trump gave Macron’s alleged answer, saying: “‘No, no, no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won.
“I said, no no, I don’t need them after the war is won, Emmanuel.”
Macron said the call for America’s allies to take military action in the Strait of Hormuz was “unrealistic”, and that the US and Israel started the war without consulting their allies, “then complain that they are not being helped in an operation they decided on alone.”
The French President added that the Trump administration was giving out contrary signals.
He said: "There's too much talk, and it's giving off in every direction. But we all need stability, calm, and a return to peace."
Macron also criticised Trump for undermining Nato, after the US president told The Telegraph that the alliance was a “paper tiger”.
During the interview, Trump said that he was considering withdrawing from the military alliance after US allies rejected his demand that warships be sent to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Macron said: “If you create doubt every day about your commitment, you hollow it out.
“When you’ve signed a treaty, when you’ve committed to an alliance, when you believe it’s important to defend the security of your allies, or at least your partners, you live up to the commitments you’ve signed. You don’t comment on them every morning.”
He added: “What we must do is work towards de-escalation, a ceasefire, and the resumption of negotiations.
“We are talking about matters of grave importance – we are talking about war, about the men and women fighting on the front line, about the men, women and civilians who are being killed.”
Macron and Trump have had a frank relationship in the past. In March, after a phone call with Macron about Iran, Trump said, “On a scale of 0 to 10, I’d say he’s been an 8. Not perfect, but it’s France. We don’t expect perfect.”
