Reflected glory Macron’s glasses are big hit for French firm

The world leaders and chief executives meeting in Davos this week were meant to be discussing the most complex and alarming geopolitical crisis most could remember.

- Kim Willsher

There was speculation that Emmanuel Macron wore sunglasses at Davos after a boxing injury

(DENIS BALIBOUSE/REUTERS SOAZIG DE LA MOISSONNIERE)

Instead, all eyes were on Emmanuel Macron.The French president’s appearance in reflective, Top Gun-style aviator sunglasses was the image that launched a thousand pithy jokes, memes and questions. Had he been injured while sparring in the boxing ring? Had he injured himself while working out in the gym? Did he simply, some wondered, want to avoid looking Donald Trump in the eye?

Few could have blamed Macron for channelling Tom Cruise in a mission impossible to neutralise the US president’s plan to take over Greenland and impose 200% trade tariffs on French wine and champagne. Some, like the communication specialist Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, saw the president’s decision to wear the French-made eyewear as symbolic in the context of France’s strained relations with the US.