Schwarzenegger and Macron join forces in swipe at Trump

Mr Macron and Mr Schwarzenegger vow to “make the planet great again” in Twitter post

French President Emmanuel Macron has taken another swipe at Donald Trump over the US president’s policy on climate change – this time backed up by the muscle of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a video on social media, Mr Macron is joined by the Terminator star as he vows to “make the planet great again”.

“Make America great again” was Mr Trump’s presidential campaign slogan.

Mr Macron has been critical of the US president’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Could this latest development, exposed in a post on Twitter on Friday, be the start of a new “political bromance”?

Speaking into his phone camera, Mr Schwarzenegger said that he and Mr Macron had been “talking about environmental issues and a green future” together.

The footage was posted on the social media site with the former film star and California governor saying he was “truly honoured” to meet Mr Macron, adding that the pair would “work together for a clean energy future”.

The 10-second clip runs for the full duration with the caption: “With President Macron, a great leader!”

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In April, Mr Schwarzenegger received France’s Legion of Honour in recognition of his environmental work. He said that he felt “very honoured” and that “we have created the mess and now we have to get rid of the mess… it doesn’t matter who is president”.

When Mr Trump announced earlier this month that the US was withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, Mr Macron said in a statement that the decision was “a mistake for the US and for our planet”.

“I tell you firmly tonight: We will not renegotiate a less ambitious accord. There is no way. Don’t be mistaken on climate; there is no plan B because there is no planet B,” he said.

The Paris climate agreement was established to limit the impact of carbon emissions on the environment, with countries committed to keeping the rise in global temperatures “well below” 2C.

BBC