French President Emmanuel Macron Is Wearing Sunglasses at Davos for Medical Reasons

As tensions rise between Europe and the United States, the Davos World Economic Forum has become one venue where European leaders can speak with one another and with business leaders about the world economy. French President Emmanuel Macron is one leader in attendance for the conference, but some have noticed that Macron is wearing sunglasses indoors at the conference.

Naturally, these people are also wondering whether Macron is doing this as a fashion statement or for some other reason. Here's what we know about why Macron is wearing sunglasses.

Although he hasn't said this explicitly, Macron appears to be wearing sunglasses because of an eye condition that left one of his eyes puffy earlier in the month of January. During a New Year's address to France's armed forces, Macron joked about his eye, suggesting that the condition was nothing to be alarmed about, even as his right eye appeared to be quite red and inflamed.

“Please pardon the unsightly appearance of my eye,” Macron said at the beginning of his speech, per The Associated Press. “It is, of course, something completely harmless.”

“Simply see an unintentional reference to the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ ... For those who catch the reference, it is a sign of determination,” he added, referring to the song "Eye of the Tiger" and its use in Rocky III.

Macron has not explained what is actually wrong with his eye, but it seems like he's wearing sunglasses because the issue has persisted, and he doesn't want to distract anyone he's meeting with. So, whatever the details of his medical condition might be, it seems like he's wearing the sunglasses largely for medical reasons, and not because he's trying to make some sort of statement about the state of France or Europe.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Macron's eye has become a subject of speculation and a little bit of controversy online, in part because the French president has refused to explain the condition directly. While some are speculating that he was hit, it seems more likely that his eye is inflamed for reasons that don't have anything to do with personal drama.

Given that he is the leader of a major country, though, it seems strange that Macron has not directly explained whatever condition it is he's suffering from, which does make it impossible to rule out a blow of some kind. If he did get hit, it's not something that anyone caught on camera, which would be a little bit surprising in and of itself.

For now, then, all we know is that Macron is wearing sunglasses to hide a red eye, and we don't know much about exactly how he got that eye. It's possible that more details will be forthcoming in the days ahead, but it's also possible that Macron simply chooses to hide the condition until it has actually resolved itself and he can once again go shadesless inside.