Macron shares photos of himself boxing: Is he sending a message to Putin?

12PUNTO FOREIGN NEWS

The photos, published on Instagram on Tuesday by French President Emmanuel Macron's official photographer Soazig de la Moissonnière, are in moody black and white and show the president with bulging biceps while working out.

Soon after, social media users compared Macron to Rocky Balboa. The release of the photos, which came after the French President proposed increasing support for Ukraine and sending troops to the front, sparked debate. Some social media users compared the photos to those Putin has shared of himself exercising. Comments suggesting that Macron is sending a message to Vladimir Putin have appeared both on social media and in the international press.

Women's magazine Femme Actuelle wrote that the photos show 'Brigitte Macron's husband with a determined look, as if he wants to fight his opponent.'

Some social media users and commentators in the French press expressed their disappointment with the images. French Green MP Sandrine Rousseau reposted one of the photos with the comment: “What a defeat for progressivism. And what poverty in political communication.”

Jonathan Bouchet-Petersen, a columnist for the center-left newspaper Libération, said the photos were a 'rather frightening communication choice' and wrote that the photo looks like the product of a truly arrogant social media user.

Éric Anceau, a history professor at the University of Lorraine, wrote on X that the photos are part of a neo-populist masculinity that some leaders enjoy, similar to those shared by Vladimir Putin.

News Source: 12punto