San Francisco Chronicle

Macron shines in U.S., returns to troubles at home

- By Angela Charlton Angela Charlton is an Associated Press writer.

PARIS — France’s Emmanuel Macron left Washington looking like a superstar — whether or not he changed President Trump’s mind on staying in Syria, how to contain Iran or anything at all.

Macron upped his global status by standing shoulder-toshoulder with the American president amid all the pageantry of a state visit. Then he attacked Trump’s policies headon in a speech to Congress, and defended his own vision of a globalist world order.

And he wrapped up the trip by rolling up his sleeves and stunning Georgetown students by telling them: “You don’t always have to play by the rules.

“That’s bulls---,” he added. Now, back to the reality of fixing France. After blow-byblow coverage of Macron’s Washington trip for three days, the French media turned quickly to domestic issues upon his return Thursday — damaging train strikes, crimeridde­n housing projects, lagging school results.

The overall French verdict on his trip? “He passed the test,” said RTL radio commentato­r Olivier Mazerolle. Le Parisien said ultimately “nothing budged” in the two president’s disputes over the Middle East or climate change.

The public intimacy between the two men — including Trump’s out-of-nowhere comment about Macron’s dandruff — drew some online ridicule. But French attention quickly pivoted to the substance of the visit.

Macron defended his strategy of befriendin­g Trump even as other leaders see him as a danger to the internatio­nal world order.

It’s part of his outreach strategy with world leaders from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and his argument that engaging with people like Trump is more productive than snubbing them.

After Macron criticized Trump policies in his speech to Congress, there’s always a risk that Trump could turn against him in a nasty tweet. But after the speech, Macron insisted that their relationsh­ip “on a personal and national level is excellent.”

Macron’s spotlight-grabbing, ceremonial state visit is likely to contrast with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s lowerprofi­le working visit to Washington on Friday. Merkel is expected to focus on changing Trump’s mind on trade and the Iran nuclear deal and discussing other hard policy issues.

And while Macron and his wife received a glitzy three-day state visit this week, Merkel gets a 20-minute private chat Friday in the Oval Office followed by a working lunch.

 ?? Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press ?? French President Emmanuel Macron (right) speaks to students at George Washington University in Washington. “You don’t always have to play by the rules,” he told them.
Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press French President Emmanuel Macron (right) speaks to students at George Washington University in Washington. “You don’t always have to play by the rules,” he told them.

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