Why Macron wore sunglasses indoors at Davos

At the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, the French president delivered a sharp rebuke of Donald Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on eight European countries opposing his controversial push to take over Greenland.

Macron warned against a slide toward autocracy, a world where rules no longer matter and territorial sovereignty is treated as a bargaining chip.

But while his words carried weight, it was his look that stole the spotlight.

Standing before an audience of global powerbrokers, Macron wore blue reflective aviator sunglasses indoors. The choice was instantly noticed, debated and, on social media, thoroughly dissected.

The Élysée didn’t address the eyewear during the speech, but French media quickly pointed to a medical reason. Days earlier, Macron had appeared at a military event in southern France with a visibly red eye, at times shielding it with similar sunglasses.

Speaking to troops then, he brushed off concerns, calling the condition “totally benign” and “completely insignificant,” before joking: “Please pardon the unsightly appearance of my eye.”

Never one to miss a moment of theatre, Macron even gave it a nickname: l’œil du tigre — the “eye of the tiger.” For anyone who caught the reference, he said, it was a symbol of determination, nodding to the Survivor anthem made famous by Rocky III.

Doctors quoted in French reports said the president appears to be suffering from a sub-conjunctival haemorrhage — a broken blood vessel in the eye. It looks dramatic, but it’s harmless, painless and usually clears up within two weeks. It can be triggered by something as simple as coughing, sneezing or rubbing the eye, though people with high blood pressure or diabetes are more prone to it.

Wearing sunglasses isn’t medically necessary, but for a head of state permanently in the camera’s gaze, image matters. “He opted for this style for aesthetic reasons, because he’s a public figure,” medical doctor and media commentator Jimmy Mohamed told RTL. “Some people might think he’s ill. The glasses protect his image, not really his eye.”

That explanation didn’t stop the internet from having fun. Online, Macron was dubbed kéké — French slang for a show-off. Others joked he looked like a cyborg, or that he was channeling Tom Cruise in Top Gun, the 1986 film that turned aviator sunglasses into a symbol of cool authority.

Fashion debates aside, Macron’s message in Davos was anything but light. Speaking through the reflective lenses, he warned of “imperial ambitions resurfacing” and condemned the use of economic pressure to undermine sovereignty.

His remarks landed amid escalating tensions with Trump, who has also threatened to impose 200 percent tariffs on French wine and champagne after Paris refused to join his proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza.

In the end, Macron left Davos having achieved something few leaders manage: delivering a hard geopolitical warning while sparking a global conversation about style, symbolism and a very famous pair of sunglasses.