By French President Macron laid on a crunching tackle as he took to the field for a charity football match in Paris.
The competitive politician showed his dogged determination as he stared down the opposition in an athletic display in the run up to his country hosting the Olympics in July.
Images from the event showed him as he put the boot into his opposition as he reached out his leg in an attempt to tackle.
Another showed him grimace in concentration as the President buried his ball into the bottom left in a cynical penalty.
And a third saw Macron helping up another felled member of the oppositon, as they appeared to laugh in shock as they raised themselves up from the turf.
Images from the event showed him as he put the boot into his opposition as he reached out his leg in an attempt to tackle
Another showed him grimace in concentration as the politician buried his ball into the bottom left in a cynical penalty
A third saw Macron helping up another felled member of the oppositon, as they appeared to laugh in shock as they raised themselves up from the turf
The competitive premier showed his dogged determination as he stared down the opposition in an athletic display in the run up to his country hosting the Olympics in July
The cunning footballer flashed a smirk as his teammates played their way up the pitch, just outside Paris
Playing alongside him was Didier Deschamps (behind, right) – the French national football team’s former coach who led the team to victory in the 2018 World Cup, making him only the third person to win the competition as a player and a manager
Macron walked to the pitch hand-in-hand with his wife Brigitte, as he enthusiastically grinned at the prospect of a kick about
Attending the Varietes Club charity football match alongside his wife Brigitte at the Bernard Giroux stadium in Plaisir, outside Paris, in an event that raised €57,500 for charity.
Playing alongside him was Didier Deschamps – the French national football team’s former coach who led the team to victory in the 2018 World Cup, making him only the third person to win the competition as a player and a manager.
In a monocrome white and black kit paired with grey socks, Macron enjoyed a dominant performance – running across the pitch with the ball at his feet.
But this is not the first time the French premier has revelled in his athletic prowess – as only last month his personal photographer Soazing de la Moissonnière caused quite a stir in France when she released two images depicting him pounding a punchbag.
With his face a picture of steely resolve as chiselled biceps rippled from beneath his shirt, the black-and-white shots of Macron were received as a display of ‘ultimate virility’ according to French newspaper Nice-Matin.
Many posited that the projection of machismo and strength came as part of a PR offensive as the French President takes a harder stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, with Macron having paused longstanding efforts to maintain a closer bond with his counterpart in Moscow Vladimir Putin.
But in reality, Macron’s pugilistic photo-op is just the latest in a years-long campaign of staged shoots designed to portray the Elysee Palace chief as a dashing, capable and admirable representative of France and her interests.
Unlike the PR campaigns of other national leaders – such as uber-machismo Putin – the official images of Macron by de la Moissonnière are more tasteful.
Macron looked serious as he stood hands-on-hips as he seriously approached his penalty
Celebrating, he took in his applause – recognising his fans with a clap of his own
The French President raised his hands to the heavens to celebrate the game – with the few fans gathered on the sidelines
Attending the Varietes Club charity football match alongside his wife Brigitte at the Bernard Giroux stadium in Plaisir, outside Paris, in an event that raised €57,500 for charity
They capture the French leader’s looks, confidence and charm as much as his masculinity and physical capabilities.
From pictures of the President flashing a winning smile as he lounged on a mustard colour sofa with a crisp, unbuttoned shirt revealing his hairy chest, to the notorious portrait of Macron wearing a Zelensky-style hoody as he strode into the Golden Room of the Elysee Palace in the early days of the Ukraine war – many of the snaps seek to display him as a man of versatility and character, rather than a hard-nosed, no-nonsense statesman.
His photographic oeuvre reads like a catalogue of calculated nonchalance, with each image serving a dual purpose: to humanise the politician and to project an aura of charisma.
But the most recent images of Macron’s boxing workout come at a time when he is working to position himself as the strongman of Europe standing up to Putin.
This has led many to speculate that Macron wants to show off his fighting spirit and determination after military experts said he is bidding to lead NATO as a ‘Napoleon’.
Last month Macron declared the prospect of sending Western ground troops into Ukraine should not be ‘ruled out’ and urged European leaders not to be ‘cowards’ when it comes to the defence of Ukraine.
He also chastised Putin for threatening the use of nuclear devices and reminded him France also has an advanced weapons programme in interviews with French media.
In an uncharacteristically brash retort to Putin’s latest bout of nuclear sabre-rattling, Macron said: ‘We must first and foremost feel protected because we are a nuclear power. We are ready; we have a doctrine (for the use of nuclear weapons).’
The pictures were released by Macron’s official photographer Sazig de la Moissonniere and show the French leader in a boxing gym yesterday, where he flexed his muscles as he hit a punching bag
His face set in a determined grimace, Macron aimed to show off his fighting spirit and determination after military experts said he is bidding to lead NATO as a ‘Napoleon’
Macron’s cringe-worthy portrayal of strength with the boxing photos resemble similar attempts by Russian president Putin, whose office previously released photos of him beating an opponent in Judo, playing ice hockey or riding shirtless on a horse
In an age of social media where every flex and flicker is meticulously curated, Emmanuel Macron appears committed to perfecting the art of visual rhetoric
In some of his latest comments about the war, the French President said last week that a Russian victory in Ukraine ‘would reduce Europe’s credibility to zero’ as he again refused to rule out deploying troops.
It’s a notable departure from Macron’s approach earlier in his presidency when he sought to develop a strong, communicative relationship with Vladimir Putin.
In the early days of the Ukraine war, Macron was heavily criticised by Western partners for his continued attempts to conduct diplomacy with Putin, insisting on speaking to his Russian counterpart at regular intervals as he pushed for a ceasefire.
Macron’s photoshoots have long divided public opinion in France, and the images of Macron pummelling the heavy bag were no different.
French media relations expert Gaspard Gantzer said his president wants to show ‘he is a Frenchman like any other… that he is in great physical shape… that he wants to fight.’
Women’s magazine Femme Actuelle also piled in, commenting that the photos showed ‘a determined look, as if he wants to do battle with his opponent… He seems to hit so hard that his biceps pop out from under his black T-shirt.’
Others however were quick to put down Macron’s photo-op.
Macron’s pugilistic photo-op is just the latest in a years-long campaign of staged shoots designed to portray the Elysee Palace chief as a dashing, capable and admirable representative of France
But Macron’s PR drive seeks to portray the Head of State as the complete package
Macron pets a dog as he sits at his desk in the Elysee Palace
An image of Macron wearing a drab hoody emerged in the days following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, leading many to suggest the French President was modelling his looks on the then-lauded Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky
Commentator Jonathan Bouchet-Petersen wrote in French publication Liberation that the photos were a ‘rather dismaying communication choice’.
He said he initially thought they were the product of a generative AI programme – and would have preferred that were the case.
‘Be careful, Rocky Macron is a real man,’ the writer quipped in a sarcastic reference to Sylvester Stallone’s character who managed to end the Cold War in his fight with Soviet super-athlete Ivan Drago – after sustaining hundreds of blows to the head.
French Greens MP Sandrine Rousseau also expressed her disappointment on social media, reposting the image with the comment: ‘What a defeat for progressivism. And what poverty of political communication.’
