‘We prefer respect to bullies’: Macron hits back at Trump; French President warns against intimidating Europe

Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron (AP file photo)

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday hit back at his American counterpart Donald Trump after the latter shared a screenshot of their private conversation on social media, saying he “stands by his words” and that Europe would not yield to bullies or be intimidated, referring to Trump’s constant demand to absorb Greenland in the US.Responding to questions about the leak, Macron said he took full responsibility for his actions and remarks. “I take responsibility for everything I do. I tend to be consistent in what I say in public and in what I do in private,” he said.Asked whether he would meet Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Macron ruled it out, explaining that he would have left by the time the US president arrived.Macron also dismissed reports of a G7 summit being scheduled this week. “No meeting is scheduled. The French presidency is willing to hold one,” he told news agency AFP in Switzerland’s Davos.While other European leaders struck a cautious tone to avoid escalating the transatlantic rift, French President Emmanuel Macron took a far more confrontational stand.Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Macron said France and Europe would not “passively accept the law of the strongest,” warning that doing so would amount to “vassalisation.” He stressed that Europe would continue to defend territorial sovereignty and the rule of law, even as the world, in his words, shifts toward “a rules-free order.” This, he said, could include the European Union responding with tough trade sanctions of its own.“We prefer respect to bullies,” Macron said. “And we prefer the rule of law to brutality.”Macron’s remarks came after US President Trump threatened steep tariffs on French wine and champagne and posted private messages exchanged with the French leader — an unusual breach of diplomatic protocol.A day earlier, Trump had shared details of a private conversation with Macron on Truth Social, launched a sharp personal attack saying the French president “will be out of office soon,” and after being told that Macron was unwilling to join his proposed “board of peace.”