FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron made headlines when he refused to be shaken in an unexpected standoff with US counterpart Donald Trump.

Mr Trump is known to make visitors flinch with a strong handshake, but his French counterpart was ready for him when they met for lunch at the US embassy in Brussels ahead of a NATO summit.

Mr Macron held on tight to Mr Trump’s notorious power grip and their knuckles appeared to turn white.

Now the 39-year-old French leader has spoken out about his now famous white-knuckle handshake showdown, saying it was “a moment of truth” designed to show that he’s no pushover.

Mr Macron told a Sunday newspaper in France that “my handshake with him, it wasn’t innocent.”

He added: “One must show that you won’t make small concessions, even symbolic ones, but also not overpublicise things, either.”

Mr Macron’s office confirmed to The Associated Press the veracity of the president’s comments in Le Journal du Dimanche.

At their first meeting, ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, the two men locked hands for so long that knuckles started turning white. The French leader held the shake for a few seconds more. Both men’s jaws seemed to clench.

It is not the first time Mr Trump has caught the world’s attention with his macho man grip.

His handshake style came under media scrutiny after a meetings with the Japanese and Canadian leaders.