Latest news with #anti-Macron
Express Tribune
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Macron wife slap: Watch full moment French President gets slapped by his wife
A seemingly innocent moment between French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, has triggered a wave of speculation after video footage surfaced of Brigitte appearing to push her husband's face upon their arrival in Hanoi for a Southeast Asian tour. The clip, recorded on Sunday evening at Noi Bai International Airport, shows the French first lady's hands extending from the aircraft's door, seemingly giving Emmanuel's face a light shove. Macron slapped by his wife Brigitte. — RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) May 26, 2025 The gesture, playful at first glance, raised eyebrows, especially since Brigitte did not take her husband's offered arm as they descended the stairs. Emmanuel, though caught off guard, quickly regained his composure and waved to the crowd. However, his wife's expression, obscured by the plane's body, left viewers wondering whether the playful shove was just that or if there was more beneath the surface. The video quickly went viral, with various reactions flooding social media, many of which questioned the dynamics of the couple's relationship. Some critics, especially those from accounts known for their anti-Macron stance, began to speculate whether this moment was a reflection of deeper tensions between the couple. Macron's office initially attempted to dismiss the footage's authenticity, only to confirm it later as genuine. In a bid to downplay the incident, President Macron described the interaction as "just horsing around" with his wife, brushing aside any suggestion of conflict. "It becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe," he quipped, mocking the media frenzy. But for some, his response raised more questions than answers. Was his lighthearted explanation a deflection? Or was there something more serious at play behind closed doors? A close ally of the president chimed in, calling the moment a "harmless squabble" and a "moment of togetherness" between the couple. Still, the incident lingered in the minds of many, particularly those who have long observed the Macrons' relationship with keen interest. The couple has been a fixture of public scrutiny since their marriage in 2007, with their unusual dynamic and the age gap between them often fodder for media speculation. Some even pointed to the timing of the incident, coinciding with the beginning of Macron's high-profile Southeast Asia tour. Could this brief moment of tension be a reflection of mounting stress, both personally and politically? The tour, which will see the French president visiting Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore, is aimed at positioning France as a steady presence in the region, competing with the economic influence of the US and China. For some observers, this minor incident could signify something larger a crack in the public façade of one of Europe's most-watched political couples. While Macron's lighthearted response suggested all is well, the moment has left many wondering: was it really just a playful push, or was there something more significant happening between the Macrons behind the scenes?
Local France
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Local France
OPINION: Macron is no warmonger, whatever France's pro-Putin billionaire says
In the name of French national and Christian values, every Bolloré-controlled print or broadcast voice has, in recent weeks, become abashedly pro-Putin and pro-Trump. They are also anti-Macron and anti-European, but that is not new. President Emmanuel Macron, according to Bolloré's flagship newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, is deliberately and cynically "stoking fear" of peace-loving Russia. According to Bolloré's 24-hour disinformation channel C-News, Macron wants to foment a war with Moscow so that he can declare a state of emergency and remain President beyond the end of his second term in 2027. In sum, according to the coordinated propaganda campaign of Bolloré-world, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are angels of peace. Macron and the European Union hunger for war. What has been the effect of this barrage of Putino-Trumpian lies on French public opinion? None, so far. President Macron's approval rating has soared (modestly) in the last month from 24 percent to 31 percent. Three quarters of French voters, according to an IFOP poll for Ouest-France, approved of his would-be Churchillian TV address last week in which he called on France to summon the moral strength to stand up to Russian aggression. Marine Le Pen and other figures in the Rassemblement National are pushing a somewhat more subtle line than the Bolloré empire. Putin may not be the paragon that they once claimed, they say, but Macron is exaggerating the threat from Russia. The real dangers are immigration and Islamist terrorism. None of this is much to do with Ukraine. The next French Presidential election is more than two years away but the pre-campaign-campaign has already begun. Emmanuel Macron cannot run again but the hard and far right is worried that the Macronist soft centre, discredited by eight years in power, will be re-invigorated by the Russian threat and a European renaissance. The Bolloré empire has never cared for facts or balance. The far-right commentariat on C-news now includes the former head of the French language version of Russia Today. As if by magic, all Bolloré outlets are abruptly repeating Kremlin propaganda verbatim. They have been emboldened by Trump's triumphant mendacity to attempt a similar putsch against the conventional wisdom of the media and political elite in France. They hope to deepen hatred of the Macron centre and distrust of the EU by convincing the French that Putin and Trump are champions of anti-woke, anti-gay, anti-migrant, Christian values. I doubt it can work. The great majority of the French public is not as gullible as half the American public. They know lying bullies when they see them. The same is true in the UK. So far the Trump-Putin axis has been a domestic political windfall for both Macron and Sir Keir Starmer. The UK hard-right media, from GB News to the Daily Mail has largely taken an anti-Trump line. In France, the gesticulations of the Bolloré's far-right propaganda machine risk discrediting the billionaire and his minions, not Emmanuel Macron. Is there any truth in the allegation that Macron is exaggerating the Russian threat? His TV speech to the nation last week was sombre but realistic. If America's military and nuclear guarantee is coming to an end, the era of European freeloading is over. Even if an uneasy truce is agreed in Ukraine, the Russian menace will remain. This is not just Macron's view. It is the view of all European capitals save Budapest and much of the British and EU right-wing media from Le Figaro to the Daily Mail. There was, however, an obvious gap in Macron's 15- minute address last week. There was no mention of Donald Trump. Macron's Prime Minister François Bayrou and his foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot have angrily condemned the behaviour of the US President towards the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Bayrou spoke of the 'brutality' and 'attempted humiliation' of Zelensky by Trump and his Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office last month. From Macron, not a word. Two weeks after he claimed to have 'made progress' in his own visit to the White House, Macron is still unwilling to abandon what he claims to be a 'friendship' or special relationship with Donald Trump. Whatever he may think privately, he refused to state publicly in his address last week that Trump's America is no longer an ally of France or Europe. Far from the warmonger portrayed by the Bolloré media, Macron was attempting one of his precarious balancing acts. He wanted to galvanise French and European resistance to Trump and Putin without quite abandoning Trump. Starmer has played a similar game in Britain. By avoiding direct criticism of their alleged 'friend', they hope to steer the US away from abandoning Ukraine to Russian aggression and avert a transatlantic trade war. Progress so far on the trade war: zero. On Ukraine, Macron and Starmer deserve some credit for this week's twist in the soap opera. The one-month ceasefire agreed by Kyiv and Washington on Tuesday was originally a French and British idea. The US also seems to have moved a little towards the Franco-British demand that Ukraine must have security guarantees in any settlement. Donald Trump will of course claim all the credit for any 'deal' that emerges. All the same, there has been a shift in the US position which may justify - for now - Macron and Starmer's annoying refusal to criticise Trump publicly. Will Russia accept a ceasefire? And what will the Putin-lovers of the Bolloré media chorus say if the peace-loving tyrant in the Kremlin refuses?
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Express Tribune
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Macron's popularity hits new low
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron's popularity dropped to a new low since his first election in 2017, in a poll published on Sunday. Just 21 percent of respondents to the Ifop poll published in the Journal de Dimanche newspaper expressed satisfaction with the president. His popularity has sunk even lower than it did during the 2019 stand off with the "yellow vests" movement that saw weekly anti-Macron protests that lasted more than a year. His popularity in Sunday's poll was marginally lower than his 22 percent score in November. Those expressing dissatisfaction (35) and great dissatisfaction (44) with Macron made up 79 percent of respondents to the poll. Most alarmingly since a December poll, is that Macron's popularity dropped by 10 percent amongst old people and pensioners -- usually a bastion of his support. AFP
Local France
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Local France
French president Macron's popularity hits new low
Just 21 percent of respondents to the Ifop poll published in the Journal de Dimanche newspaper expressed satisfaction with the president. His popularity has sunk even lower than it did during the 2019 stand off with the "yellow vests" movement that saw weekly anti-Macron protests that lasted more than a year. His popularity in Sunday's poll was marginally lower than his 22 percent score in November. Those expressing dissatisfaction (35) and great dissatisfaction (44) with Macron made up 79 percent of respondents to the poll. Most alarmingly since a December poll, is that Macron's popularity dropped by 10 percent amongst old people and pensioners -- usually a bastion of his support. Macron's popularity has plummeted again since he dissolved parliament in the summer, just before Paris hosted the Olympic Games, leading to inconclusive parliamentary elections that have left France in a political crisis ever since. The poll was conducted amongst 2,001 people aged over 18 online between January 15 and 23.
Al Arabiya
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
French President Macron's popularity hits new low
French President Emmanuel Macron 's popularity dropped to a new low since his first election in 2017, in a poll published on Sunday. Just 21 percent of respondents to the Ifop poll published in the Journal de Dimanche newspaper expressed satisfaction with the president. His popularity has sunk even lower than it did during the 2019 standoff with the 'yellow vests' movement that saw weekly anti-Macron protests that lasted more than a year. His popularity in Sunday's poll was marginally lower than his 22 percent score in November. Those expressing dissatisfaction (35) and great dissatisfaction (44) with Macron made up 79 percent of respondents to the poll. Most alarmingly since a December poll, is that Macron's popularity dropped by 10 percent amongst old people and pensioners – usually a bastion of his support. Macron's popularity has plummeted again since he dissolved parliament in the summer, just before Paris hosted the Olympic Games, leading to inconclusive parliamentary elections that have left France in a political crisis ever since. The poll was conducted amongst 2,001 people aged over 18 online between January 15 and 23.
