

Forget Greenland. Macron’s sunglasses take over Davos.
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When French President Emmanuel Macron strode to the stage in Davos wearing a pair of reflective aviator sunglasses, many thought he was sending a message: It was time for someone in Europe to stand up to President Trump. Was Macron evoking Tom Cruise’s cocky fighter pilot Maverick in “Top Gun," signaling that he wouldn’t back down against Trump’s demands for control of Greenland? Others thought he might be throwing shade by wearing aviator-style sunglasses favored by former President Biden, the object of Trump’s constant derision.
Some saw even bigger stakes: “Can Macron’s sunglasses save the West?" read a headline in the Telegraph, the conservative British newspaper. Macron in fact intended none of those things, French officials said. The sunglasses were meant to hide a burst blood vessel in his eye.
Nevertheless, photographs of Macron wearing the shades made the front pages of newspapers around the world. The blue-tinted lenses seemed to resonate perfectly with the cobalt blue background of the Davos stage, creating a striking effect. Shares of the Italian company that owns the sunglasses brand jumped on the Milan stock exchange.
Memes proliferated across the internet, fueled by generative AI. Macron was shown as a fighter pilot, flashing the middle finger as he tracked Trump in Air Force One to the “Top Gun" theme song. He was Sylvester Stallone in the 1986 action movie “Cobra," toting a machine gun.
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