Striking images from Paris this week offered signs of how Europe’s de-facto leadership has started to mutate in the two months since Macron took office. The smiles and glad-handing between the two men contrasts starkly with Trump’s dour relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Macron has also reached eastwards, hosting Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid the spectacular surroundings of Versailles in late May. Macron is showing that “France is back in the game,” said Jean-Dominique Giuliani of the Robert Schuman foundation, a specialist European think-tank. “The Germans were surprised when Trump’s visit to Paris was announced,” a diplomatic source said.

Source: Dhaka Tribune July 16, 2017 16:18 UTC