French President Emmanuel Macron says Trump’s mocking comments about his marriage do not merit a response, shifting focus to Middle East peace.

SEOUL: French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed Donald Trump’s mocking comments about his marriage as unworthy of a response. Macron called the remarks “neither elegant nor up to standard” during a visit to South Korea with his wife, Brigitte.

Trump made the jibe at a private lunch while criticising NATO allies. He imitated a French accent and claimed Macron’s wife “treats him extremely badly,” adding the president was “still recovering from the right to the jaw.”

Macron said the focus should remain on de-escalation in the Middle East. “There is too much talk, and it’s all over the place,” he said, in an apparent criticism of Trump’s policy shifts.

The French president stressed the need for stability and a return to peace. “This isn’t a show!” Macron told reporters.

Trump’s comments angered politicians across the French spectrum. Yael Braun-Pivet, president of France’s lower house, said discussing the world’s future was more critical than mockery.

Even frequent critic Manuel Bompard of the hard-left France Unbowed party defended Macron. He told BFMTV that Trump’s manner of speaking about the president’s wife was “absolutely unacceptable.”

The incident followed days of tension over US-Israeli strikes on Iran and NATO. Trump’s video also labelled NATO a “paper tiger,” continuing his administration’s criticism of the alliance.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would “reexamine” its NATO relationship after the Iran conflict. Trump’s remarks referenced a discredited 2025 video clip from Vietnam that Macron had previously called disinformation.

 The Sun Malaysia