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Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Macron wore a suit the whole time

The French president has worn dark suits the whole time, complete with low-key ties and socks. Notably, his choice of business attire wasn’t all that different from what was being worn by most of Macron’s Indian hosts, who generally don’t dress for diplomatic engagements as if it’s their wedding day. Naturally, Macron’s muted style is in sharp contrast to Trudeau, who touched down in New Delhi with at least four traditional Indian outfits that were quickly criticized by Indians as being “a bit much.” Effectively, Trudeau’s sartorial style was roughly equivalent to showing up in Scotland with a steamer trunk full of kilts and sporrans. There also appear to be few photographs of the French president with his hands clasped in an Indian-style prayer pose.

Photo by AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh

Macron only stayed four days

Macron has a country to run, so naturally he had to make his visit short and sweet. The whirlwind tour started Friday and wrapped up Monday; it’s effectively a long weekend. Trudeau not only took twice as long, but he easily had a fraction of the high-level diplomatic engagements that Macron sped through. One veteran Indian diplomat even told the Hindustan Times that he had never seen a visit so devoid of official engagements as Trudeau’s.

Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

The French delegation didn’t invite any terrorists

France pulled off an entire visit without inviting a single extremist to a diplomatic gathering. Macron didn’t have to meet with the chief minister of Punjab to assure him that he doesn’t clandestinely support a terrorist underground. The French president’s wife didn’t pose for a photo with a terrorist, nor did any members of his cabinet. Most importantly, France did not invite a terrorist to several diplomatic events, and then attempt to lay the blame on India when the gaffe was discovered. All told, it was quite a terrorist-free visit. Quite the opposite, in fact. Both France and India have faced pretty dire threats from Islamic terrorism in recent years, and during Macron’s visit both countries signed agreements designed to strengthen their intelligence sharing on counterterrorism.

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