SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Biopic series of French first lady in the works

Brigitte Macron's "fairytale journey" from schoolteacher to first lady is to be recounted in a French TV series, the producers said Tuesday.

Biopic series of French first lady in the works
Brigitte Macron is the centre of a new TV series. Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP

“Gaumont is developing a series titled Brigitte, Une femme libre (Brigitte, A Free Woman) in six episodes of 45 minutes,” they said, adding it was still in very early stages.

Brigitte Macron, 71, was a French and drama teacher until 2015.

She used to work at a school in Amiens, northern France, where she famously met Emmanuel Macron when he was still a pupil 24 years her junior.

She has kept a low profile since her husband was first elected in 2017, but has made fighting school-bullying and cyber-bullying one of her personal causes.

A source close to the first lady, who did not wish to be named, said it was the first they had heard of the biopic.

“We are not associated with this project which we learnt about today in the press,” the source said.

The series comes after a 2023 film titled “Bernadette”, starring French icon Catherine Deneuve as the wife of former president Jacques Chirac.

It tells how Bernadette Chirac carved herself a place in the limelight after being cast aside following her husband’s 1995 election.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

Macron ready to ‘open debate’ on nuclear European defence

French President Emmanuel Macron is ready to "open the debate" about the role of nuclear weapons in a common European defence, he said in an interview published Saturday.

Macron ready to 'open debate' on nuclear European defence

It was just the latest in a series of speeches in recent months in which he has stressed the need for a European-led defence strategy.

“I am ready to open this debate which must include anti-missile defence, long-range capabilities, and nuclear weapons for those who have them or who host American nuclear armaments,” the French president said in an interview with regional press group EBRA.

“Let us put it all on the table and see what really protects us in a credible manner,” he added.

France will “maintain its specificity but is ready to contribute more to the defence of Europe”.

The interview was carried out Friday during a visit to Strasbourg.

Following Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, France is the only member of the bloc to possess its own nuclear weapons.

In a speech Thursday to students at Paris’ Sorbonne University, Macron warned that Europe faced an existential threat from Russian aggression.

He called on the continent to adopt a “credible” defence strategy less dependent on the United States.

“Being credible is also having long-range missiles to dissuade the Russians.

“And then there are nuclear weapons: France’s doctrine is that we can use them when our vital interests are threatened,” he added.

“I have already said there is a European dimension to these vital interests.”

Constructing a common European defence policy has long been a French objective, but it has faced opposition from other EU countries who consider NATO’s protection to be more reliable.

However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the possible return of the isolationist Donald Trump as US president has given new life to calls for greater European defence autonomy.

SHOW COMMENTS