(Paris, French Republic) With the E.U. already having been dealt a blow by Brexit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been determined to come up with a common strategy to deal with the Trump administration.

She began by calling François Hollande to discuss how they would handle this great upset, but she failed to make any headway with the French president who remained convinced Donald Trump’s win was a farewell ribbing concocted by Barack Obama.

Hollande eventually agreed to release a statement, but Merkel was frustrated to find it read:

“You Americans are such pranksters. Jerry Lewis – I love it! Best, François.”

Despite repeated entreaties to face up to reality by the outgoing US President, Hollande continues to disbelieve it and asked Obama to tell POTUS-elect Clinton to get in touch once they were both done fooling around.