I’m more pessimistic after decade as first lady, says Brigitte Macron
BRIGITTE MACRON’S time as France’s “first lady” has made her sadder and more cynical, she has admitted.
The 73-year-old former drama teacher said her husband Emmanuel Macron’s near-decade as French president had exposed her to the world’s “stupidity” and “wickedness”.
She made the comments after Mr Macron, who met his wife when he was her student of 15 in 1993, said he would quit politics after next year’s election.
Ms Macron told La Tribune Dimanche: “Before, I had a normal life, children, a job, ups and downs, like everyone else.
“Here, these 10 years have passed so quickly. They have been so intense. I have seen the darkness of the world, stupidity, wickedness.
“It’s sometimes difficult for me to see the blue sky. I have moments of pessimism that I didn’t have before.”
Before meeting Mr Macron at La Providence High School in Amiens, France, Mrs Macron was married with three children.
During an interview at a school in Cyprus last week, Mr Macron said: “I didn’t do politics before and I won’t do after it.”
The 48-year-old worked as an investment banker before becoming French president in 2017.
“The hardest thing after nine years is that you have to hold on to what you’ve done well, but sometimes you have to revisit things you’ve done badly,” he added. “You have to have the energy to see it through to the end. Otherwise I’ll regret it too much.”
Throughout Mr Macron’s tenure, Mrs Macron has been subject to conspiracy theories and false accusations she is a trans woman.
Earlier this year, 10 people, including an art dealer, a teacher, a computer scientist and an elected official, were convicted of cyber bullying, which led to a deterioration of the first lady’s physical and mental health.
Candace Owens, the conservative American podcaster, has also accused the French first lady of being a trans woman, spreading false rumours in the United States.
Last year, footage was widely shared online after Mrs Macron was caught shoving her husband in the face as the doors of their presidential plane opened on a visit to Vietnam.
The French president and his aides denied there were involved in a domestic dispute and called it a harmless squabble.
“We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife, and I am surprised by this,” Mr Macron told reporters in Hanoi.
Donald Trump, the US president, has poked fun at Mr Macron over the attack, while criticising France’s reluctance to join the Iran war. “I call up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly,” Mr Trump joked at a private lunch which was held at the White House.
“Still recovering from the right to the jaw. And I said, ‘Emmanuel, we’d love to have some help in the Gulf. We’d love to have some help. If you could, could you please send ships immediately.’”
In France, presidents can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. However, they can run for a third term after taking a break, which would make Mr Macron eligible to run again in the 2032 election.