While speaking at the Davos summit on Tuesday, French president Emmanuel Macron drew attention for his stern rebuke of US leader Donald Trump’s threat to tariff eight European countries opposed to his proposed takeover of Greenland.
But another aspect of Macron’s speech also made an impression: his choice of eyewear.
The French leader wore a striking pair of blue reflective aviator sunglasses indoors while addressing world leaders at the World Economic Forum.
While Macron did not explain the reason for the accessory during his speech, French reports have attributed it to an ongoing medical condition.
Last week, he appeared at a military event in southern France with a red eye and at one point donned a similar pair of sunglasses.
While addressing troops, he downplayed his condition and said it was “totally benign” and “completely insignificant”, adding: “Please pardon the unsightly appearance of my eye.”
Macron even joked about it, calling it “l’oeil du tigre” or the “eye of the tiger”, in a reference to rock band Survivor’s song used in the 1982 boxing movie Rocky III.
“For those who get the reference, it’s a sign of determination,” he said.
French reports said that Macron appeared to have a sub-conjunctival hemorrhage, which is a broken blood vessel in his eye.
It is harmless, painless and does not affect vision. It also does not cause permanent injury to the eye as it usually clears within a fortnight.
It sometimes occurs when a person sneezes or coughs vigorously, or pokes or rubs their eye. Those with diabetes and high blood pressure are more at risk of suffering from the condition.
While sunglasses are not necessary to protect vision, those who have the condition may choose to wear glasses to avoid attracting attention.
Macron “opted for this style for aesthetic reasons, because he’s a public figure,” medical doctor and media commentator Jimmy Mohamed told French broadcaster RTL.
“Some people might think he’s ill, so to avoid being photographed in that state, he decided to wear sunglasses. The glasses protect his image, but not really his eye.”
His decision has stirred discussion on social media, where some have called Macron “kéké”, which is French slang for a show-off.
Others joked that he was a “cyborg” or emulating Hollywood actor Top Cruise in Top Gun, the 1986 movie that made wearing aviators a fashion statement.
In the speech he made while while wearing the shades, Macron warned against a shift towards autocracy and “a world without rules, where international law is trampled underfoot” and “imperial ambitions are resurfacing”.
This was even more so the case when these tariffs are “used as leverage against territorial sovereignty”, he said.
Trump has also threatened to impose 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne imports over France’s refusal to join his “Board of Peace” for Gaza.
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