Macron’s Shades Were Huge Boost for Eyewear Firm

Emmanuel Macron’s choice of sunglasses gave a small Italian eyewear company a major boost on the market. Shares of iVision Tech, which owns the French luxury brand Henry Jullien, surged nearly 28% on Thursday after the French president appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos wearing aviator-style shades indoors—a moment that quickly went viral on social media. The jump added about $4.1 million to the Milan-listed company’s market value.

Stefano Fulchir, iVision Tech’s CEO, told Reuters that the surge was “certainly” tied to the viral moment. He identified the frames as Henry Jullien’s Pacific S 01 model, which retails for around $770. The sudden demand even caused the company’s website to crash.

Fulchir said he had personally sent the glasses to Macron in 2024. “I said I would be happy to send him a pair, but they said no. He didn’t accept them as a gift and wanted to purchase them himself,” Fulchir told the Guardian. “The French president paid close attention to whether the glasses were entirely made in France.” Macron’s office said the sunglasses were worn to cover a burst blood vessel in his eye but declined to confirm the brand. At a military event last week, Macron downplayed the issue, calling it “benign” and jokingly referencing the famous Survivor song: “l’oeil du tigre” or “eye of the tiger,” according to the BBC.

The look sparked a wave of online memes, with many comparing Macron to Tom Cruise’s fighter-pilot character in the 1986 film Top Gun. President Trump also poked fun at Macron during his Davos speech on Wednesday, saying, “I watched him yesterday, with those beautiful sunglasses. What the hell happened?”

Wearing an eyepatch was reportedly not an option. In 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced widespread ridicule with pirate-themed memes after covering an eye injury, while in France, eye patches have long been linked to far-right figure Jean-Marie Le Pen.

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