The photo of Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron, gold shovels in hand, went around the world.
A week ago, at the start of his state visit to Washington, the French president joined the US president on the lawns of the White House to throw, under the watchful eye of their wives, a handful of soil on the roots. of a young oak.
The plantation was loaded with symbols: the young shoot came from a forest in the north of France where over 2,000 American Marines perished during the Great War.
A few days later, amazement: the oak was no longer there.
At the end of intense speculation, France gave the explanation: the tree symbol of the Franco-American friendship was placed in quarantine.
"It's mandatory for any living organism imported into the United States," Gerard Araud, France's ambassador to the United States, told reporters on Sunday. "He will be replanted after."
Since it had already been planted, did not the quarantine come too late? asked an attentive reader.
No, the roots had been "carefully insulated" in a protective plastic, immediately said the French diplomat, great adept of Twitter.