President Trump congratulated centrist Emmanuel Macron on his "big win" over far-right leader Marine Le Pen in Sunday's French presidential election, claiming: "I look very much forward to working with him!" There could already be tension between the two major world leaders, though, seeing as Macron recently invited American scientists to flee to France.
In the February video, Macron addressed U.S. scientists in English: "Please come to France, you are welcome," he urged. "It is your nation." Trump has notably threatened to withdraw America from the Paris agreement on curbing global climate change.
"I do know how your new president now has decided to jeopardize your budget, your initiatives, as he is extremely skeptical about climate change," Macron added in the clip. "I have no doubt about climate change and how committed we have to be regarding this issue."
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On Sunday, Macron reinforced the leadership role he intends for France to take. "Europe is waiting for us to defend the enlightenment," he said in his victory speech. "They are waiting for a new hope, a new humanism, for a safer world … Europe and the world are waiting for us. They are waiting for France to surprise them."
Approximately 80 percent of French voters hold negative views of President Trump, Politico reports. On Friday, Trump's Environmental Protection Agency dismissed at least five scientists on the agency's Board of Science Counselors, including an expert on handling hazardous waste, a natural resource sociologist who studies how communities deal with environmental shocks, and an environmental economist.
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