Macron's marital crisis disappears from the French media

Macron's marital crisis disappears from the French media

A short burst. A Section of milliseconds, which would have made headlines in the US for days, was in France It only aired for 24 hours and then disappeared again. When a viral video surfaced last weekend showing Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, shoving him in the face as he was about to get off a plane in Vietnam, not a single French news paper featured it on the front page the next morning.

Public reactions and cultural differences

Was this because Prime Minister François Bayrou was talking about the financial measures the French will have to take under his soon-to-be-presented budget? Or because people were recently arrested in a series of cryptocurrency extortions? More likely, it shines a light on the cultural divide between France and the Anglophone world - a long-standing French belief that politicians' private lives should be protected.

Confidentiality of personal information

This tradition of secrecy kept the illegitimate daughter of President François Mitterrand hidden for years. She also ensured a delicate silence about other controversial personal stories, such as the notorious woman's life of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The former International Monetary Fund chief's arrest on sexual assault charges in New York in 2011 abruptly ended his political career just as he had emerged as a leading presidential contender.

The effects of media reporting

The same unwritten rules came into force in 2014, when Closer magazine published photos of former President François Hollande - concealed behind a motorcycle helmet - arriving at a friend's apartment, where he allegedly met actress Julie Gayet. At this point, Gayet was his girlfriend, although he was still living with Valérie Trierweiler.

The story caused a stir, but Holland's office condemned the "privacy violation" and the media soon backed off. At a press conference, Hollande was asked only once about his private life, which he deflected with the comment: "Private matters are dealt with privately," which silenced the crowd of French journalists and left foreign reporters speechless.

The challenge of modern means of communication

When the Macrons' video began circulating, the initial media reaction was swift but short-lived. French broadcasters played the clip in a loop, analyzed it briefly and then quickly moved on to other topics. But this fundamental rule is now being put to the test. “Over time, such personal stories have become much more difficult to control than they were 30 or even 20 years ago,” said Thierry Arnaud, an international correspondent and veteran journalist at BFMTV. "It's true that we didn't make a big deal about it, but it's deeply embarrassing for Macron. You invade an intimate moment of a couple and that's uncomfortable for both him and the viewers."

Macron's unconventional relationship

Macron's Relationship with Brigitte has always been unconventional. They met when he was only 15 and she was his drama teacher at a private school in Amiens. She was 24 years older, married and mother of three children. What started as mentorship developed into something deeper, and by the time Macron graduated, he had vowed to marry her one day. “No matter what happens, I will marry you,” he tells her as a teenager have said.

Public and private life in transition

Their story was used as campaign advertising in 2017, they publicized it, posed in glossy French magazines and described their marriage as a celebration of an atypical but loving modern family. Critics were labeled misogynists. "It was initially entirely a sign of pride, a special kind of glamor that contributed to his (Macron's) image of being both politically and personally daring. He fell in love with his teacher as a teenager and pursued it come what may. However, over time, that image has suffered," Arnaud said.

The challenges of social media

Following the incident in Vietnam, the couple publicly showed unity that same evening by walking hand in hand through the streets of Hanoi in a clear attempt to dispel rumors of domestic strife. But the line between public and private life is becoming increasingly blurred. Traditionally, the Élysée Palace has had a strict policy of never commenting on rumors or the private lives of politicians. But with the rise of social media and disinformation campaigns, they are being drawn into these personal controversies, challenging this long-held stance.

The answer to rumors

In March, conservative commentator Candace Owens fueled an absurd conspiracy theory with a YouTube video titled "Is France's First Lady a Man?" That video was widely shared on X, and Owens called it “probably the biggest scandal in political history.” Since then, Owens has produced numerous videos about Brigitte Macron for her 4 million YouTube subscribers, including a multi-part series called Becoming Brigitte.

Although the allegations are completely unfounded and Brigitte Macron successfully sued two French women who spread them, it has provoked a reaction from the president. At an event in Paris in March 2024, Macron addressed the rumors directly, saying that the worst thing about the presidency was dealing with "false information and made-up stories." “People start to believe it and it disrupts your life, even in your most private moments,” Macron added. His words seem prophetic now, as the world speculates about a deeply intimate exchange that we may never have access to.