seriously? congress takes it seriously and the only issue is whether we take it seriously. >> i am chris wallace. we sit down with the president of france, emmanuel macron for an exclusive interview on the eve of his visit to washington. we asked him about france's relationship with the u.s. and the surprising friendship he has forged with president trump. i want to go back to your first meeting and the famous first handshake. the allied missile strike on syria. have you persuaded him to stay to help stabilize the situation there? and relations with russia. what do you think of vladimir putin? plus, the mass protests and - -

president emmanuel macron basis at home as he pursues a reform agenda to jumpstart the french economy. we go in-depth with france on a "fox news sunday" exclusive. then, we will ask our sunday panel about mike pompeo's secret trip to north korea and what it means for a possible trump, kim jong-un summit >> we believe it will be a great success and we are looking forward to it. >>chris: all right now on "fox news sunday". hello again from fox news today in paris. we are reporting from the - - palace. the office of the french president.on the eve of emmanuel macron is visit to the u.s., the first of the trump presidency. the two leaders, both political outsiders with ambitious reform

agendas have developed an unlikely friendship. this hour, we will explore the relationship and the dramatic differences on key issues, they will try to resolve this week. our exclusive with president emmanuel macron in just a moment.but first, fox news's senior news correspondent - - with a look at emmanuel macron's astonishing rise to power and his controversial first year in office. >> nearly one year ago, emmanuel macron strolled onto the scene in france as president. just 39 at the time, he was the youngest leader of france since napoleon bonaparte. the investment banker got there by beating his own political party with two thirds of the vote. >> i will do everything i can in the coming fiveyears to make sure you never have a reason to a vote for extremism ever again. >>reporter: - - also won a majority in the french parliament.

emmanuel macron used his popularity to go against entrenched union to shake up a badly stagnating french economy. a battle that rages today. he took a tough stand on of the immigration issue. his pro-european union and internationalist approach, getting the attention of leaders, friendly and sometimes not so friendly. after a tough and shake at their first meeting, and some outstanding differences on issues like climate change. emmanuel macron and president trump have become close friends and allies. first lady melania also hitting it off with emmanuel macron his wife, bridget. the shared outsider status, cementing the bond. >> nothing will ever separate us. >>reporter: recent french involvement in the u.s. led

missile strikes against syria is a good example of the new alliance. he has taken knox for sometimes being too interested in pr and his polling has dipped as he's been accused of being more interested in the perks of the job. but in a world looking for fresh leaders, emmanuel macron often fits the global bill. >>chris: our interview with president emmanuel macron came just one week after the u.s., france and britain lost a coordinated strike on the assad regime in syria. on the eve of the state visit, there are big issues that divide president emmanuel macron and president trump. i came to the palace to talk with the french leader. built in 1722 for a french nobleman, it was first used by the president of france in 1848. the interview took place in a salon - - the golden room. the french equivalent of the oval office. mr. president, thank you for speaking with us. >> thank you very much for

being here in my office. >>chris: let's start with the state visit and your address to congress. what message will you bring about relations between our two nations and what role the world would like to see the same at play? >> first of all, i am very humble to come to your country. to visit with president trump and have the opportunity to discourse with them and go into congress for this address. my - - is to highlight our two countries based on values. we are very much attached to the same values, especially liberty and peace. and i think the u.s. has a role to play 40s in different regions of the world and especially the middle east. i think it's one of the last resorts, for this piece and military - - so i will advocate

for - - in front of congress. which means playing altogether in order to reduce the power of rogue states and leaders. and i'll be a fight against - - together. >>chris: many foreign leaders have come to washington but this would be the first state visit of the trump presidency. how do you explain your special relationship with the president and some have called you the trump whisperer. >> i think we have a special relationship because both of us are mavericks of the systems. i think president trump's election was unexpected in your country. probably my election wasn't expected in my country. we are not part of the political system. second, i think we are very much in line on some very critical issues in this world

and - - and fighting against isis. third, i think we have - - based on meetings we've had. in the present he gave to my country. >>chris: i want to go back to your first meeting and the famous first handshake between the two of you at the nato summit in may of last year. it lasted six agonizing seconds. you said afterwards, it was not an innocent moment. it was a moment of truth. how important do you think it was to establish that you were not going to be pushed around? >> i think it was a very direct and yes, a very direct. when i say it's not innocent, it's to say we were sitting together and we had to shake hands.

and it was to say, now we will work together. >>chris: but you also made it clear, you weren't going to let him - - >> i have seen prime minister shinzo abe and some of the other victims. it was a very natural moment. in a very friendly moment. don't worry. >>chris: as you know, the special counsel is investigating president trump. this week, the former fbi director james comey said that he was morally unfit to be president. does this hurt president trump's credibility and his effectiveness on the world stage? >> i don't think so. to me, there was no impact. people of the united states voted for president trump. and elected him. you have your system, you are a

free country with a rule of la . i have the same in my country. this is an excellent democracy. with judges. but, here in this office, i am not the one to judge and in a certain way, to explain your people what should be your president or because of these controversies or this investigation, your president is less credible for me, for my people and the rest of the world. i am here to deal with the president of the united states. and the people of the united states elected donald trump. >>chris: do you ever wonder if he will serve his full term? >> i never wonder that. i work with him because both of us are very much at the service

of our country. for me, that is why, even when we have disagreements on climate and on some issues, i think the most important thing is to just remind that we are at the service of our people. and the service is to work for the long-term history. freedom, defense of our values. when you decide to be a free country, it helps the united states to exist. during the first and second world war, when we were attacked. thousands of young people came here and died here for my country. that is the story of our relationship. and president trump and myself, whatever happens, in the line

of the service. that's why my gift to your president will be an oath taken in a symbolic place. that together, - - that is for me a great symbol of this long-term relationship. >>chris: you talk about the united states as a country of last resort. relationship with president trump was a bit strained this week after the attack on syria. mr. trump has made it clear he wants to pull out. >> we will be coming out of syria very soon. let the other people take care of it now. >>chris: after the missile strike, you said we convinced him it was necessary to stay for the long term. the white house pushed back, he

wants the mat forces to come home as quickly as possible. which is it? is president trump going to pull out of syria as soon as isis is defeated or have you persuaded him to stay to help stabilize the situation there? >> it's not only u.s. forces but diplomacy. that's why i think the u.s. hold is very important. >>chris: why? >> i will be very point blunt. if we leave, definitely and totally, even from a political point of view, we will leave the floor to the iranian regime . assad and his guys. and they will prepare the new war. they will fuel - - my point is to stay even after the end of the war against isis. the u.s., france, our allies, all of the countries of the region. even russia and turkey will

have a very important role to play in order to create this new syria and ensure the syrian people can decide for the future. >>chris: let's do what we call a lightning round. quick questions, quick answers. when the president announced new tariffs on aluminum and steel, for the european union, you said that we will not negotiate with a gun pointed at our heads. there is now a may 1 deadline. who is going to blank? president trump or you? >> i hope you will not implement this new tariffs and he will decide for an exemption for the european union. you don't make trade for with your allies. >>chris: but he has said, that he is going to implement. >> he said exemptions will be made first. let's see what he will decide on may 1. i say where are your

priorities? you can't make trade war with your allies point i'm an easy guy, i'm very simple. straightforward. it's too complicated if you make war against everybody. you make trade war against china, europe, wharton syria, it doesn't work. you need allies. you are your allies. >>chris: the president has a may 12 deadline for deciding whether to lift the sanctions on tehran, would it be a mistake for the president to pull out of the iran nuclear deal? >> - - for nuclear, what do you have? i don't see it. what is the what if scenario or your plan b. i don't have plan b for nuclear. that's a question that we will discuss. that's why i just want to say on nuclear, let's - -

framework. second, i'm not satisfied with the situation with iran. i want to fight against that, to contain their influence in the region. my point is to say don't leave now. let's complete it - - [indiscernible] >>chris: president trump seems close to holding a summit meeting with north korea's kim jong-un, do you think his threats. fire and peer-reviewed's insults, little rocket man. however unconventional they may be, brought kim jong-un to the table? >> i don't know. i think we always have to be very careful about these kind

of declarations. i think the pressure he put on the region, plus the chinese role. president trump worked very closely with president xi jinping. >>chris: during president vladimir putin's visit you called him out on russian interference in your election. what you think of vladimir putin?>> i think he's a strong man. strong president. he wants a great russia.he is extremely - - with minorities. and a democracy which is not mine. i have a permanent - - with him even if we argue about things. don't be nacve.

he is - - by interferences in our democracies. that's why i believe we should never be week with president vladimir putin. when you are weak, he uses it. but, he made a lot of fake news. he has strong propaganda. his influence around europe and the u.s. to fractional- - our democracies. i respect him. i know him. i want to work with him knowing everything about that. >>chris: coming up, much more of our exclusive interview with president emmanuel macron. we will discuss his reform agenda for france which have sent thousands of protesters into t

>> a welcoming ceremony for the president of senegal at the - - palace bid home to the leaders of france since the 19th century. we are back now with more of our exclusive interview with french president emmanuel macron, ahead of his state visit to washington this week. president trump likes to call himself a disruptor, determined to transform the american economy. when it comes to shakeup, he has nothing on his french counterpart. let's talk about your political movement on the move. how would you describe your reform agenda to americans? >> my reform agenda is to modernize the country.

we fixed - - corporate taxes, we are modernizing the different sectors. we will pursue this modernization agenda until the end. at the same time, we launched with germany in order to modernize the european union. that is my top priority. i want this company to be both much stronger, and totally adapted to the new challenges like digital and green economy. >>chris: when you came into office, the unemployment rate was 9.5, it is now 8.9. growth is at two percent which is the fastest rate in 10 years. but your critics saying, you are the president of the rich. how do you plead?>> when you have unemployment, or the rich the victim's? i'm not too sure. the more you create unemployment, the more you serve four people because you

create jobs. my policy is focused on job creation. how canhelping businesspeople t accelerate job creation. it's an emancipation agenda i would say. i want people coming from poor neighborhoods, middle classes, to succeed through education and work in my country. when you have a country with a lot of public expenditures, with a high unemployment and your victims are poor people and people coming from poor neighborhoods.>>chris: one of your named targets has been the national railway systems. jobs for life guaranteed benefits for life. train engineers can retire at 52. put in your reform, you don't want to end that for the people who currently have it. only for future workers.

i must tell you and you probably wouldn't hear this in france, thereare some american conservatives that say, my not go why not go further? >> i am not living in the u.s. i know the situation. i know what is fair and unfair and what can be delivered and cannot be delivered. why? i think the system is fine for the current workers. but given the fact we will have to take new workers, we want to clarify the situation - - [indiscernible]. you can always say, you can do more when you're not the one in charge of it. i am in charge. believe me. i take commitments. i deliver. but i deliver to take their and efficient decisions. >>chris: you talk about fairness.let's talk about your tax reforms. you have dramatically cut the stiff tax on wealth but you are

taxing retirees more heavily. how is that fair? >> look, first indeed, i cut the wealth tax. which was a strong - - for the french economy. when people succeeded, with that company, they had to leave the country if they wanted to escape. when they reinvest in the economy, when they create jobs. when they reinvest, i don't want them to pay a wealth tax because they are good for the economy. i think this is most efficient and fair. i ask them, - - workers pay for retirement.

if i don't manage to push my country, more workers, i will jeopardize my capacity to pay retirement. so that's a fair deal. i tell my retired people, first, thank you. it's not a surprise. i don't betray you. third, it is fair because when you look at the average in the society, retired people are slightly richer than working people. when you look at the situation between the different categories, 30-40 years ago, people get retired at the same age as today. but living 15-20 years less than today. i know it's difficult.

you always have protests when you change something as a country. but i do endorse because i think it's fair and it's once again, fair and efficient in order to increase my results. >>chris: one result of all of this is you have had major protests. you have had these two day a week strikes. one demonstration, 20,000 people took to the street. any chance that you will back down?>> no chance. we have an issue, we will put new public money in order to solve this issue. which is not the right way to fix a situation. when i told french citizens before the election is that i want to address the deep roots of our problems.

it will take time sometimes. we will have to take more decisions but we have to fix the situation in-depth. so i have no other choice because if i stop here, because of some protests and they are legitimate. but they are a minority part of the country. if i stop, i don't think i will be able to modernize the country and make the future. it is finished.so i will deliver because that is my duty and my commitment. >>chris: but your poll numbers are down. you were elected with 66 percent of the vote and the latest phone, 58 percent disapprove of you. only 40 percent approve. >> polls are not the ones to tell where you have to go when you are elected. if you follow the polls, you never reform. never fix the situation. you never transform. because you are always assessed byobsessed with following i

will deliver the mandate. i will look at the polls in due time not now. >>chris: you talk about what it takes to be a leader. you embrace symbols. on your election victory night. ♪. >> - - [indiscernible] the first time you addressed the french parliament, it was at versethe ãproducer to some degree france is a monarchy. is that how you see your role as a leader? >> i don't want to be a monarch. i'm apresident . i am elected by my people. this is important because this is the only way to work into your best.

- - each day you have to think about that and this sort of symbolic burden you have because of this history and because of this place of the country. >>chris: some in the french press compared to napoleon. some have compared you to louis xiv. your predecessor in this office and your former political - - francois has warned you to remember the french also cut off the head of the king. do you ever feel you need to guard against being arrogant? >> definitely. but having authority, deciding.

being aware of all the consequences of your decisions and thinking that you have to stick to your decision to deliver when it's good for the country. is not the same as being authoritarian or arrogant. so i try to preserve, all of us have a lot of faults and weaknesses. but i think the situation of my country is the best remedy of being arrogant. i'm here to serve my people and my country and make it great again. somebody i know very well would say. that's the whole story. making great again means delivering more unity to the country and being fair with people. so all of this criticism you mentioned are just to say, now if somebody endorses.

you have elections. you have a democratic system. but here in this current situation, because all of the challenges in france, in europe, in our world, i have to take this responsibility. and i have to decide to endorse and to remain everyday above, and committed. and i am. >>chris: mr. president, thank you. thank you for talking to us and safe travels to washington. >> thanks very much. thanks to your people and i will be very honored to come visit your country and speak with your leaders. thank you. >>chris: president emmanuel macron arrives in washington tomorrow for his state visit. he will also make a rare address by a foreign leader to congress.

up next, we are back in washington with our sunday group. to discuss what to expect from the emmanuel macron visit and the weeks other major developments. later, a more personal look at the french president. as he tells us what he likes most and least about his job.

>> hopefully that meeting will be a great success and we are looking forward to it. if i think it's a meeting that is not going to be fruitful, we are not going to go. if the meeting when i am there is not fruitful, i will respectfully leave the meeting. >>chris: president trump clearly excited about a possible summit with north korea's kim jong-un but still leaving himself an extra brand. we are back in washington now with our sunday group. former speaker of the house newt gingrich. columnist for the hill, juan williams. democratic congresswoman jane harman and michael anton now with hillsdale college. we will talk about president emmanuel macron in a minute but

first, kim jong-un says he will freeze his nuclear weapons program but no talk of giving them up. the question is, how significant a development is this? >> is that he would freeze the program. he close a certain site which would be great if he followed through. this will be one of the things that has to be worked out. get inspectors and there and make sure that's genuine and permanent. i think this is a game plan that the north koreans have run on the united states and others before. feel the pressure, pretend to give concessions and maybe not follow through. the white house is fully aware of this game plan because it has been run so many times before. as you saw the president say, he's ready to walk away if he doesn't feel the north koreans are seriously making genuine concessions. in the meantime, let's let the talk happen and see where they

go and see how serious the north koreans are. >>chris: the fact we are so close to a kim jong-un/trump summit would have been so unthinkable two months ago. one of the questions is, will as the president, you heard him. he gave himself the offramp but he talked and there's this hyper machine about the visit. will he feel pressure to make concessions on the u.s. side in order to come away with a big deal? >> i hope, concessions, yes. bad concessions, i hope not. deals a deal is concessions on both sides. the best we can hope for is camping what kim jong-un has and hopefully capping the production of material. >>chris: you said it's not going to be denuclearization. kim jong-un has specifically talked about that. are using the best we can hope for is recognizing them as a nuclear state?

>> i think that is likely. i don't think he will give up his nuclear arsenal. i think we can make a better deal than we did with iran if we do it correctly. denuclearization to him is us giving up our nuclear shield in asia which protects south korea, japan. i don't think we are prepared to do that. what i am saying, my bottom line is, talking is better than bombing. i think there's a good deal to be reached with our allies. that's another piece of this if trump is careful and has a deep bench of advisers be that worries me because the national security council has been shaken up in thelast few weeks and i don't know if we have the bench we need to do this deal properly. >>chris: speaker gingrich , what you see as the wrists of the summit as it looks more likely it will happen? >> there always risks. because you're automatically

giving him a level of prestige. one of the key moments of the end of the cold war is ronald reagan and - - walking away. with gorbachev in public. you screwed this up, you fail to do this. he walks away. every senior republican thought reagan waswrong. they said this is crazy. six months later, corporate gorbachev has caved. donald trump wants his deal but if he doesn't get his deal, he will simply increase the pressure. key example, we almost intercepted three tankers full of oil and the chinese begged us not to do it. so is quite capable of saying to him, you want me to simply cut of all economic trade with your country?that is your choice big boy. >>chris: while we were in paris, there were a number of developments and what we call

for lack of a better word, the russia investigation. let's take a look at what happened just this week.the comey memos were released. rudy giuliani joined the presidents legal team. mr. trump tweeted, james comey illegally leaked documents to the press in order to generate a special counsel. therefore the special counsel was established based on an illegal act.really, does everybody know what that means? and deputy attorney general rosenstein reportedly told the president he is not a target of the investigation. congressman trey gowdy says that doesn't mean much. >> i don't think the president is the target as you and i use that term in a nonlegal sense. in a legal sense, that can change with one witness. one document. >>chris: you heard that long list of developments just this week, which of those developments really matters? >> i think to a large extent, this last week was about the

nervousness in washington about whether the president will try to fire the special counsel robert mueller. if you look through all of the developments you listed, what was really important was rod rosenstein . congress threatened him with subpoena if he didn't give them the memos that jim comey, the former fbi director had written contemporaneously with visits with president trump. now having given them the documents, i think that whole argument whether he will be under subpoena, weekend more likely to be fired by president trump point has somewhat calmed down. he also said the president is not a target of this investigation. again, calming down the idea that the president will fire rod rosenstein. put someone in a job who's going to refrain in or fire mueller. >>chris: speaker gingrich, what

is your take away on what matters? >> i urge everybody to read the original rod rosenstein memo about comey which trump totally mishandled. what he should of done is released that memo in a state of shock. let the country deal with the memos. it's devastating. it's clear if you got that memo as a president, you would have fired comey. second, i don't know what rosenstein is doing this week. the judge indicated they will have a special reviewer, they may not run within the material until june. >>chris: you are talking about the michael cohen stuff.>> how can rosensteinbe reassure t president about material they haven't looked at. this whole thing is a circus. we are not dealing with a traditional legal process. we're dealing with a highly politicized process in which the number two guy at justice just told the president

something he can't possibly know. >>chris: so, in other words, we have no idea where we stand. should the president keep tweeting or keep tweeting? >> i wish he would tweet 20 percent less. >>chris: this week's state visit, can president trump and president emmanuel macron w more and more people have discovered something strong... dependable... long lasting. they've found themselves in a chevy truck. and now, you can too. see for yourself why chevrolet is the most awarded and fastest growing brand the last four years overall. switch into a new chevy now. current competitive owners can gethree thousand dollars total cash allowance on most colorado pickups. find new roads at your local chevy dealer. belief.

>> i think that in that context, what he said was there are diplomatic presence, economic. the presence been very clear. if you can figure out how to

get to a saudi arabian, jordanian, egyptian force, probably paid for by the saudis. he's trying to figure out a way to maximize impact while minimizing american risk. i will just point out, we are involved everywhere on the planet. people talk about how we will withdraw somewhere, show me where we are withdrawing. >>chris: let's talk about one area because we see the split between emmanuel macron and president trump whether to stay into the iran nuclear deal. the president, president trump has a deadline of may 12 to decide whether to renew the sanctions which in effect would kill u.s. involvement in the iran nuclear deal. president emmanuel macron makes it clear he will try to press his friend not to do that. take a look. >> - - for our relationship with iran. no. fournuclear, what you have?

i don't see it. >>chris: how do see this issue of whether to stay in the deal or not where president trump seems to be on one side.and all of the european allies on the other. how do see that being resolved? >> if you go into the interview further, president emmanuel macron leave the door open to what president trump is asking for. which is not changing the iran nuclear deal, it's a follow-up agreement that iran would not be party to. it commits - - to dealing with the ballistic missile problem to eliminating a sunset clause. essentially, shoring up the clause. >>chris: also, iran's acting as a bad actor on the regional issues. - - [indiscernible] >> what he said he would do in january, he's laid out conditions.

he has tasked his team to negotiate with the europeans to see if those conditions would be met. he made it clear when the next sanctions waivers were up, if you didn't get the conditions met, he would not do the waiver.>>chris: what affect do you have if you have a deal between the u.s. and our allies but iran is not party to that? >> what iranians most want is sanction relief. this be a pledge between the united states and our allies to multilaterally reimpose sanctions if the iranians went on a track toward nuclear weapons. >>chris: then there's trade and president trump's threat to impose aluminum and steel sanctions on the european union. president emmanuel macron made it clear, is not having any of that. >> if you make war against everybody. you make trade war against china, europe, were in syria, it doesn't work. you need an ally. we are the allies. >>chris: your thoughts about

the differences, despite their friendship, on the issues between these two men on all these issues.>> first of all on iran, russia and china are parties to the jcp a. our congress would support that. it's a good thing. but if we decertify the iran deal, i think trump would help his progress in north korea and i do think there's a chance to progress in north korea bid on this, emmanuel macron is right why make war on your friends. we need europe with us, especially as we try to - - things down and exit from the middle is. we need strategy with our allies and what's missing what i think in this world. obama didn't have it either. a foreign-policy strategy where we will engage, where we won't engage. what our values and interests are, what they are not. that has to evolve with a changing world. >>chris: i was struck on the -

- side at how this president was, he has a strong presidency and this extraordinary majority that was swept in right after he was elected in the parliament. he is determined to rejuvenate, to shake up what has been a very troubled french economy. >> right, you were also there to see there are protests point people in the street. strikes by people who are involved with labor specifically in the public sector. people who are upset his reforms seem directed at a labor in terms of giving big employers more leeway in terms of negotiations. what they have to pay in case of layoff. cutting back on public sector employment. he sees himself as taking the french economy into the 21st-century. he's become a leader in europe in just this way.he's a leader obviously in terms of

what comes of the iran deal. the trade argument. he's a leader even now in terms of the north korean deal. but he's got to deal with the fact people at home who gave him such a support as fighting back the far right. now are angry at him. >>chris: i will say, when i asked him. any chance of backing down. he said, no chance. see you next sunday. the first thing president emmanuel macron told me is he wanted to extend his condolences to the bush family and the american people over the death of barbara bush. on saturday, some 1500 mourners including former president and their wives said goodbye to mrs. bush in houston.her son jeb bush deliver the eulogy. >> barbara bush build our lives with laughter and joy. in the case of her family, she was our teacher and will model on how to live a life of purpose and meaning. >>chris: barbara bush was 92.

coming up, personal reflections on his first year in office from emmanuel macron. helped put a roof over the heads of hundreds of families, he's most proud of the one he's kept over his own. brand vo: get paid twice as fast with quickbooks smart invoicing. quickbooks. backing you.

[music] [music] >> another look at paris and

boats on the river. after our interview with president emmanuel macron, he walked me out of the palace. i asked him to reflect on his eventful first year in office. what is the best part of being the president of france? >> defining. you can decide if a decision is something you believe in. which i think is great. when you are a leader and you when you want to transform your country. when you love your country which is my case. i think there is nothing more

great than that. >>chris: what is the worst part of being the president of france? >> you are never free. your time in your life. doesn't belong to you. you're always alone when you decide. but youwere never free . that's probably - - >>chris: what someone would say, no one forced you to run for president. >> that's why i never complain. it's not a job, it's a mission. i love it. i'm very proud of serving my people. serving my country. i never complain. i will never complain. it's less difficult than being a worker in a plant. >>chris: thank you sir. >> thank you very much. >>chris: for more on the state visit to washington including where the trumps are taking the macron's two dinner, please go

to our website, www.foxnews.com. have a great week, and we will see you next "fox news sunday". howie: jim comey memos are leaked to the press by congress igniting media debate whether they hurt or help president trump. >> there's nothing else in there, no red flags, no smoking gun that would incriminate the president. >> if you take the comey memos at their word they are devastate to go president trump with regard to him telling the truth. >> for him to write things down seems self-serving, seems as he was planning the first draft of the book that has now been published. howie: was comey's briefing of trump of steele dossier, journalists are turng