Anger in France over Trump's Macron dig that wife treats him 'badly'
- Last updated: April 2, 2026 | 13:39
Donald Trump sparked anger in France on Thursday after making fun of the French president and his wife, imitating a French accent and saying Emmanuel Macron's wife "treats him extremely badly."
The US president on Wednesday unleashed his latest broadside against Macron during a private lunch as he lambasted Nato allies for not joining the war against Iran.
In France, politicians including a Macron critic were outraged by Trump's attack.
"Honestly, it's not up to par," said Yael Braun-Pivet, president of France's lower house of parliament.
"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 told franceinfo.
Even Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the hard-left France Unbowed party, rushed to Macron's defence.
"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," Bompard told broadcaster BFMTV.
Conservative French daily Le Figaro said: "Another controversial outburst from Donald Trump."
'Still recovering'
Trump mocked the 48-year-old Macron in a video posted briefly on the White House YouTube channel before access was blocked.
"We didn't need them, but I asked anyway," Trump said. "I call up France, Macron — whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw," Trump said.
The US president was referring to a May 2025 news video that appeared to show Brigitte Macron shoving the French president's face on a trip to Vietnam, which Macron later rejected as part of a disinformation campaign.
At the time Macron denied any "domestic dispute" with his wife, saying that they were "joking as we often do."
"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,'" Trump continued.
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 said. "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," Trump said, without elaborating.
He also branded Nato a "paper tiger," the latest salvo by Trump and his top officials against the transatlantic alliance since he returned to the White House last year.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States "is going to have to reexamine" its relationship with Nato once the war against Iran has concluded.
Agence France-Presse