President Donald Trump launched a surprising attack on France, saying in a television interview that Washington has had "a lot of problems with the French."
A Fox News anchor asked the US president about Chinese students attending American universities, saying, "It's not the French, it's the Chinese. They spy on us. They steal our intellectual property."
But Trump interrupted her, saying, "Do you really think the French are any better? I'll tell you, I'm not so sure."
Trump, who is waging a trade war with Beijing, has cultivated a close relationship with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, characterized by warm handshakes and pats on the back.
Macron also called Trump directly in September to tell him he had been stopped in the street by the US presidential motorcade while en route to a meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
But this relationship has been marked by some tension, such as Trump's opposition to France's recognition of a Palestinian state and Paris's climate policies. The US president also pressured Europe to increase defense spending through NATO, while Macron was part of European efforts to gain Trump's support for military aid to Ukraine against Russia.
During the interview, Trump addressed French tax policy, which he considered problematic for the United States, saying, "We've had a lot of problems with the French. They tax our technology unfairly."
Trump levels "surprise criticism" at France for this reason
