The French call it “langage corporel” – body language.
A notably prolonged handshake, reflecting the complex dynamic between the President of the United States and his French counterpart.
Donald Trump may have hoped to see a full turn by Emmanuel Macron – but got a pirouette.
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A half-turn, in a carefully choreographed dance, the US leader asserting optimism, the French one, much more cautious in response.
President Trump repeated his view that the war in Ukraine would soon end.
He signalled a dramatic shift by Russia, suggesting President Putin might accept the deployment of European peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine.
But Emmanuel Macron cautioned that any peace agreement must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Trump claimed Ukraine’s president would be in Washington soon, to sign a deal granting the US access to rare earth minerals to offset US war aid.
Again, the French president gently stressed the need for security guarantees.
Neither side wanted a diplomatic spat, side-stepping the divisions laid bare by events in Kyiv and New York on the third anniversary of the war.
The United States was notably absent when Western leaders convened in Ukraine.
And the United States voted against an amendment to a UN resolution replacing the word “conflict” with the words “full-scale invasion”.
There is a world of difference between Trump’s approach and Macron’s.
In his trademark pragmatic style, the US president seeks a swift end to the war, with economic benefits, even if it risks longstanding alliances.
President Macron’s focus on Ukraine’s sovereignty, prioritising stability and mutual co-operation, represents a more traditional diplomatic stance.
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No one said the wrong thing, but the French president briefly dropped his guard at one point.
Emmanuel Macron appeared to wink towards a journalist who had asked President Trump if he would describe President Putin as a dictator.
Now that is langage corporel.
