Bragging, moi? Macron snubs May by claiming he’s the closest to Trump
EMMANUEL Macron has delivered an embarrassing snub to Theresa May by claiming that he is the closest world leader to Donald Trump.
The French president, the first foreign premier to be given a state visit to Washington, bragged in an interview that he had a ‘very personal relationship’ with the US President.
Ignoring the ‘special relationship’ between Britain and America, Mr Macron said: ‘France is the United States’ oldest ally. We will always stand side by side.’
The comments will be viewed as a challenge to the Prime Minister, who has cultivated her relationship with Mr Trump and is relying on the US for a good trade deal after Brexit.
Mr Macron, 40, made the remarks in the American magazine Vanity Fair, published yesterday, ahead of his state visit next week with his wife Brigitte, 65. He said he and Mr Trump ‘talk on the phone on a regular basis’ and that he appreciates his frankness. ‘I have always been very clear and straightforward about our disagreements,’ he said. As Mr Macron sees it, over the past year he and Mr Trump ‘have developed a good level of trust and respect’.
He said: ‘I appreciate the forthright conversations I have with President Trump as they help us understand each other.
‘Whether it be on the Iran [nuclear] deal or on trade, I believe we can actually reach a common ground. These talks take place in the context of the unique and long-lasting alliance between our two countries’.
It came as the French president called for the UK to abandon Brexit and warned that the EU is locked in a ‘civil war’ over its deepening political divisions.
Mr Macron said a decision by Britain to stay in the EU would offer a perfect ‘solution’ as negotiations continue. He presented the contentious offer after telling Mrs May that she will soon need to start making ‘coherent’ choices about the shape of a deal and that the UK will soon need to ‘grasp with reality’.
Addressing the UK’s departure next year, he said: ‘I’m for the strongest and closest relationship possible, and there’s one solution we know well for that – it is EU membership. It is the one solution that allows access to the single market, access to freedoms and good integration.’
He rejected possible UK proposals for selective access to parts of the EU after Brexit.
Mr Macron made the comments during a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, as he dramatically warned the EU not to ‘sleep walk’ towards another war in Europe.
Hinting at the popularity of Eurosceptic parties, he said: ‘There seems to be a European civil war, national selfishness and negativism seems to take precedence over what brings us together. There is a fascination with the illiberal and it is growing all the time.’