Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

2022 FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

7 of the best Macron memes from the French election campaign

The 2022 French presidential election campaign has been a fairly dour affair - elections usually are - but recent images of candidate Emmanuel Macron during his TV debate with opponent Marine Le Pen, and relaxing with shirt unbuttoned have given rise to some much-needed smiles.

Published: 22 April 2022 17:19 CEST
7 of the best Macron memes from the French election campaign
Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

One photo in particular has sparked widespread interest – and even international media coverage – and it’s from Macron’s personal photographer Soazig de la Moissonnière.

She has been posting regular sequences of ‘behind the scenes on the election trail’ images on her Instagram account, including Macron’s recent election rally in Marseille. In among images of Macron preparing for his speech, running on stage and greeting the crowd was one of him relaxing after the event was over.

Slumped on a sofa with his shirt open to the waist (well, it’s hot in Marseille), the image caught the attention of social media.

Photo: Soazig de la Moissonnière via Instagram

Combined with other images of Macron – including that ‘Zelensky’ hoodie photo from earlier in the campaign – the image quickly became a meme circulating on Twitter.

There are dozens of these circulating as people fill in their own jokes and comparisons.

The Financial Times’s chief features writer Henry Mance gave us this scarily accurate portrayal of a journalist’s life. Freelances, in particular, will recognise this all too well.

And Nicolas Quenel compared and contrasted the daily lives of journalists in different areas of the media – print journalist, radio journalist, web journalist and TV journalist.

Here’s one for classicists…

But it’s not just Macron’s chest-hair that has been gaining attention, many also remarked on his ‘bored’ face during the live TV debate with Marine Le Pen.

According to the strict rules of the debate, each candidate had a set time to lay out their policies on a certain area, before their opponent could challenge them.

Both candidates engaged in a little ‘non verbal campaigning’ but using facial expressions and body language to show that they disagreed with what the other was saying. 

Macron’s bored expression sparked many comparisons, including this from professor, author and columnist Olivier Babeau who tweeted “when your Tinder date talks without stopping and the evening is going to be a long one”.

Another Twitter user hit the nail on the head, with this picture of Macron making notes during the debate. He really did look that bored at times on Wednesday that we could believe he was writing a shopping list (milk, onions, cereal, butter).

And Emma James wasn’t the only one to wonder about his body language.

And you know you’ve made it when you’re the subject of a sketch on a US TV chat show – here’s host Jimmy Fallon paying, erm, tribute to Macron’s new look in song. Enjoy! 

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.

Published: 28 April 2024 13:10 CEST
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