French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and US President Donald Trump (R) shake hands during the greetings ceremony at the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Yoan VALAT / POOL / AFP) (Photo by YOAN VALAT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to engage in a private battle of words on Monday during a tense, gripping handshake on stage at a summit in Egypt backing the conclusion of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Years of tensions between the two leaders have swung between moments of friendship and seemingly antagonistic encounters, the latest occurring as Macron joined other nations in acknowledging Palestinian statehood – something Trump characterised as a reward for Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
On Monday, in Sharm El Sheikh, Trump and Macron firmly grasped hands for nearly 30 seconds as they appeared to struggle for physical control during a photo opportunity. The news emerges as Keir Starmer humiliated by Donald Trump as he’s forced to queue for handshake.
According to a professional lip reader who observed the exchange, the pair may have delivered subtle warnings and accusations at one another before agreeing to pursue the conversation behind closed doors.
“Nice to see you, so you agreed?” Trump asked Macron as he joined him on the summit stage, according to lip reader Nicola Hickling, reports the Mirror US.
Macron responded as he faced away from the camera.
“Is it genuine?” Trump appeared to ask.
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“Of course,” Macron replied.
“Okay, so now I want to know why. You hurt me. I already know,” Trump seemed to say.
“I am making peace.”
Macron tapped Trump’s hand and looked down at it, saying, “Excuse me,” according to Hickling.
Trump appeared to ignore his request and grasped his hand even tighter. “Let’s handle this behind closed doors,” Macron seemed to suggest.
“I only hurt the other,” Trump responded.
“I see. We will have to see about that – you will see what is about to happen,” Macron cautioned.
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) arrives to meet US President Donald Trump (R) during the greetings ceremony at the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“I’d like to see you do it,” Trump shot back. “Do it. I’ll see you in a bit.”
The photo opportunity on stage was part of a summit co-hosted by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, aimed at “ending the war in the Gaza Strip, enhancing efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and ushering in a new era of regional security and stability,” according to the Egyptian presidency.
Twenty world leaders were present at the meeting, including heads of Qatar, Palestine, Turkey, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway and representatives from the United Nations and European Council.
Notably missing from the summit were Israeli officials and representatives from Hamas.
Hickling noted that the tense exchange between Macron and Trump on Monday continued a long tradition of theatrical diplomacy, describing it as an example of “power play by touch.
“Repeatedly prolonged, tight handgrips between these two have a clear history as theatrical diplomacy. The squeeze here (Trump squeezing Macron’s hand while speaking) reads as an attempt to dominate the interaction physically while delivering a conciliatory/accusatory line,” she wrote in an email to The Mirror US.
“This mirrors documented public handshake tussles between the pair.”
President of France Emmanuel Macron attends the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit (Image: Getty Images)
In attempting to disengage from the shake, Macron appeared to favour a de-escalation, Hickling added.
“Tapping the hand, looking down and then turning away are classic appeasement / de-escalation gestures and an attempt to remove himself from the physical dominance,” she said.
“Excuse me’ combined with turning away signals discomfort and a wish to break the engagement.”
Hickling said there appeared to be a mismatch between Trump’s words and body language.
Even as he seemed to tell Macron he was “making peace,” he contradicted the idea by tightening his grip.
“That mismatch increases the likelihood this was friendly-theatre mixed with a clear assertion of control,” she said.
Whilst the specific content of their altercation on Monday was not immediately clear, it followed a confrontation between the two leaders late last month regarding the recognition of Palestinian statehood.
President Donald Trump greets French President Emmanuel Macron during a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war (Image: Getty Images)
“I think it honors Hamas, and you can’t do that because of Oct. 7. You just can’t do that,” Trump told reporters in September in response to France’s announcement supporting Palestine.
The number of global nations advocating for Palestinian statehood now totals more than 145.
The U.S. is one of the few in the minority.
“Nobody forgets the 7th of October, but after almost two years of war, what is the result?” Macron responded. “This is not the right way to proceed.
“There is one person who can do something about [the war in Gaza], and that is the U.S. president,” Macron declared to France’s BFMTV.
“And the reason he can do more than us is because we do not supply weapons that allow the war in Gaza to be waged. We do not supply equipment that allows war to be waged in Gaza. The United States of America does.”