Emanuel Macron said today that he "always had confidence" in Donald Trump, the American president, who made an unexpected turn for Ukraine during the G7 summit held in Evian.
"I always told him things directly. When we disagree, we admit it. But when he committed to us, he always did what he promised," the French president said at a press conference.
Macron gave a warm welcome to Donald Trump, who is not very interested in these international meetings and had even departed early last year from the G7 summit in Canada.
🔴 #G7Summit : 🗣"J'ai toujours eu confiance en Donald Trump", déclare Emmanuel Macron. "Je lui ai toujours dit les choses. Quand nous avons des désaccords, nous les assumons. Mais quand il s’est engagé vis-à-vis de nous, il a toujours fait ce à quoi il s’engageait", dit le... pic.twitter. com/dsTYPMKsB7— L'Echiquier social (@EchiquierSocial) June 17, 2026
He will welcome him tonight for dinner at the Palace of Versailles, an invitation for which his opponents accuse him of being too remiss with the American president.
"If I had not consistently maintained my positions in recent months, you could have doubted the balance of power. For sure", replied the French president, repeating in English this phrase that became viral after his speech at Davos' forum.
However "I was never unclear or weak and I was always clear when I expressed my disagreements," he said, citing Greenland and Ukraine.
Macron stated that "he always kept the dialogue", as diplomacy is not only about accepting "people with whom you fully agree.".
She judged that France's role is also to know to "honor its guests". "And let us not be ashamed of what we are. Versailles is a diplomatic tool and an instrument of power," he stressed.
Making a transfer to the sports world, the president stated that, like the French national football team, "whether I play away or at home, my goal is to score goals.".
Donald Trump however threatened, just before reaching the G7 summit, that he would impose 100% duties on French wine. And his government ordered last week the American flagship of Anthropic artificial intelligence to suspend access to its most powerful models for foreign citizens.
"If we hadn't seen President Trump today, his team, if in the last two days we hadn't realized this G7, where would we be with artificial intelligence? “ said Macron, this technology was on Wednesday’s meeting agenda.
"A constant conflict. Because otherwise, this world talks to each other only through social media posts or through a statement to the press," he added.