US President Donald Trump (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron. [AFP]
US President Donald Trump (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron. [AFP]

The relationship between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron — once dubbed a "bromance" — faces another test at the G7 summit. The two leaders made headlines with a white-knuckle handshake at France's Bastille Day parade in 2017 and are now openly at odds over Iran, Ukraine and tariffs.

Macron will host Trump at the G7 summit opening Tuesday in Évian-les-Bains, France, according to the Financial Times. As the first major multilateral summit since US airstrikes on Iran, tariffs, Middle East tensions and the war in Ukraine are expected to dominate the agenda.

Ahead of the summit, Trump on Sunday warned France of sweeping tariffs if it does not scrap its digital services tax on major US technology companies.

In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said he had made the demand directly to Macron. "I asked them not to tax our companies," Trump said. "If they do, I will have no choice but to put a 100% tariff on champagne and wine from France."

The digital services tax was introduced to prevent multinational companies from shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions. France has levied it since 2019 at a rate of 3 percent on revenues that companies such as Amazon, Meta and Apple generate in the country. France's Finance Ministry said the tax raised roughly $700 million last year.

The French government recently said the dispute over the tax with the United States had been resolved. But Trump's remarks suggest Washington's opposition has not softened.

The two leaders were among the most closely watched bilateral relationships in the early days of Trump's first term. Macron invited Trump to France's Bastille Day celebrations in 2017, an event that inspired Trump to push for a large-scale military parade in the United States.

The relationship has since cooled considerably. Trump has imposed steep tariffs on the EU and pressured NATO allies to increase defense spending. His push to annex Greenland and the airstrikes on Iran have deepened his rift with European leaders.

Macron, by contrast, has publicly opposed Trump's policies, championing support for Ukraine and greater European strategic autonomy.

Iran has become the sharpest point of contention. Macron recently criticized Trump for oscillating between diplomacy and military action, saying a leader who wants to be taken seriously cannot "say the exact opposite of what he said the day before, every single day."

Trump has fired back, mocking Macron with the line: "Emmanuel is always wrong."

The friction coexists with an unusually direct personal channel. According to the FT, the two leaders still exchange calls and text messages regularly. In January, Trump publicly disclosed a private message he had received from Macron.

In that message, Macron proposed cooperation, writing: "My friend, we agree on Syria and can achieve great things on Iran." He was also blunt about Greenland, telling Trump: "I cannot understand why you are doing this."

European diplomats say Macron has not abandoned his belief that he can bring Trump around.

Mujtaba Rahman, Eurasia Group's managing director for Europe, said Macron "barely responds when Trump attacks or mocks him publicly" and remains "one of the very few European leaders who still believes he can persuade Trump."

Within Europe, however, skepticism about that approach is growing.

Max Bergmann, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said European leaders spent 2025 trying to appease Trump, but that "in 2026, there is far greater resistance to that kind of approach."

He added that for some European leaders, standing up to Trump could actually be a domestic political asset.

France, as host, is also bracing for unpredictable behavior from Trump.

Paris diplomatic circles say the summit agenda was adjusted to prevent a repeat of last year's G7 in Canada, where Trump left early and refused to endorse the joint communiqué.

The opening schedule was adjusted in part to accommodate Trump's itinerary — he is expected to travel to France after attending a UFC event at the White House.

Analysts say the two leaders remain uncomfortable with each other yet unable to fully turn their backs on the relationship.

Experts on Middle East affairs say that is because the United States and France still need each other on key issues — the war in Ukraine, Iran's nuclear program and securing the Strait of Hormuz.

The FT quoted a European official as saying: "The bromance is gone, but there is still a reluctant mutual respect between the two."


sjy@heraldcorp.com