Emmanuel Macron has suggested it would be “chic” if the US was a French-speaking country after a tongue-in-cheek comment King Charles aimed at Donald Trump during his visit to Washington.
In a speech at a White House state dinner, the British monarch joked on Tuesday evening that if it were not for the UK, the US would be speaking French. “You recently commented, Mr President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German,” he said. “Dare I say that if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French?”
In a response on X, President Macron said: “That would be chic!”
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s historic tour to the US was widely seen as an opportunity for the UK to begin repairing a fractured relationship with the Trump administration, following several attacks on British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer over the UK’s refusal to engage in the US war on Iran.
Mr Macron has been another subject of Mr Trump’s fierce criticism ever since he reassumed the White House in January 2025. The pair have suffered a fraught relationship, with the US president once accusing him of being “publicity-seeking” and saying he “always gets it wrong”.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will cap their historic US tour with a final stop in Virginia on Thursday after a packed day in New York City, where they visited the 9/11 memorial and laid a bouquet of white flowers at the memorial pool.
