I have tiger's gaze: Macron's red eye joke, sunglasses spark online buzz

French President Emmanuel Macron managed to turn a minor medical issue into a viral moment after appearing with a visibly red and bloodshot right eye during a speech to the country’s armed forces, triggering both concern and humour online.

On Wednesday, Macron arrived at a ceremony at the Istres military base in southern France wearing sunglasses, fuelling speculation before he removed them to address troops. Choosing wit over worry, the French President acknowledged the unusual sight head-on.

“Please pardon the unsightly appearance of my eye,” he said at the start of his speech, before jokingly framing it as an “unintentional reference to the Eye of the Tiger”, a nod to the iconic song from Rocky III.

Footage of Macron’s puffy red eye quickly circulated on social media, prompting questions about his health. The Elysee Palace soon clarified that the French President had suffered a ruptured blood vessel in his eye, stressing that the condition was harmless and temporary.

Macron continued to play along with the moment, joking with staff, while wearing sunglasses and asking them to “accept” him as he was. “I now have the vision of a tiger,” he quipped.

Social media reactions were sharply divided. While many praised Macron for his humour and confidence, others revived old memes and references involving First Lady Brigitte Macron.

"Classic Macron. Turning a red eye into a joke and sunglasses into style. Gotta admit it makes him look oddly confident," one user wrote.

"He's looking cool," another wrote.

"Even a burst blood vessel can’t dim the presidential swagger Macron turns it into a “tiger’s gaze," a third user said.

However, a section of the Internet made a reference to Brigitte Macron.

"He forgot who's in charge so Brigitte wang whipped him," a user wrote.

"His man wife is smacking him around again," another said.

"Hope Brigitte is treating him nicely!" a third user said.

The chatter echoed a viral clip from May 2025, when Macron had brushed aside speculation after a video appeared to show his wife playfully pushing his face aside as they arrived in Vietnam, calling it a harmless joke taken out of context.

The episode also resurfaced baseless conspiracy theories targeting Brigitte Macron, claiming that she was born as a man. French authorities have repeatedly debunked the claim.

Earlier this month, a Paris criminal court convicted 10 people for orchestrating an online harassment campaign against the First Lady, following a defamation complaint linked to such rumours.

For Macron, the red-eye moment ultimately became another example of how optics, humour and hard politics often collide in the age of viral leadership.

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