On the 16th at the European Political Community Summit, Turkish President Erdoğan and French President Macron had a noteworthy interaction. After shaking hands, Erdoğan tightly gripped Macron's middle finger for more than 10 seconds, leading to viral online reactions and political interpretations.
This summit took place in the Albanian capital, Tirana.
According to comprehensive foreign media reports, the footage shows Macron extending his hand to shake with Erdoğan. Both appeared friendly while patting each other's hands. However, after the handshake, Erdoğan unexpectedly held onto Macron's middle finger and seemed to stare into the distance. In the following seconds, Macron appeared somewhat awkward, standing there and speaking as he attempted to withdraw his hand.
A few seconds later, Erdoğan released Macron's finger, and the two leaders burst into laughter.
During the entire interaction, Erdoğan remained seated while Macron stood. Some netizens speculated that the whole exchange was a subtle display of power by Erdoğan, possibly retaliating against Macron's attempt to assert dominance through body language.
Turkish media 'Sabah' commented that the key was Macron's attempt to place his hand on Erdoğan's shoulder to establish psychological superiority, which Erdoğan did not allow, instead tightly holding onto Macron's finger.
Russian media described this as a power game, indicating that the Turkish President may have been displeased with attempts to interfere with his actions. At the summit, he was even too lazy to rise from his seat, and his final smile said it all.
This incident occurred amid diplomatic tensions between France and Turkey due to a series of geopolitical issues, including NATO expansion and responses to Russia's war in Ukraine. While Macron has become a leading voice opposing Russian aggression in Europe, Erdoğan maintains a more ambiguous stance, actively attempting to broker peace agreements between the warring countries.
Turkey is currently the only NATO member state not listed on Russia's list of unfriendly countries.