The message is clear: please, for the love of God, keep politicians out of football.
At the medal ceremony, Macron was at it again, this time grabbing Mbappé around the neck and cradling his head. Once again, it was clear that the footballer really, really didn’t want or need this, not that Macron appeared to notice or care. Macron’s opportunism is Schrödinger’s politics: it is both rightly inside the football event and yet also correctly outside it at the same time. On the other hand, isn’t football the perfect bandwagon upon which to jump in order to buff not just one’s personal image but to score points about diversity, inclusion and opportunity in France at the same time? The French president has been putting himself about during the tournament: performative goal celebrations when times were good, buttering up the Qatari hosts, and also playing all the classic hits about keeping politics out of sport. Imagine you’re only 23 and this crushing failure is being witnessed by your loved ones, everyone you have ever met, and countless millions more worldwide.
A Reddit post claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron began a relationship with his future wife when he was 15 and she was 39 years old.
His First Stepson Is 47 Years Old, the Second Is 45 Years Old and His Stepdaughter (Also His Classmate at High School) Is 44 Years Old." 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/world/europe/france-election-emmanuel-macron.html. His first stepson is 47 years old, the second is 45 years old and his stepdaughter (also his classmate at high school) is 44 years old." "French President Emmanuel Macron (44) Is 25 Years Younger than His Wife (69). 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/opinion/sex-and-the-french-elections.html. 2022, www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/zpu4b8/french_president_emmanuel_macron_44_is_25_years/. Sex and the French Elections." 19, 2022, a Reddit user posted the following claim: "French president Emmanuel Macron (44) is 25 years younger than his wife (69). The Reddit post inaccurately claimed the opposite was true, and also included incorrect information about some of their ages. Sébastien was born in 1975 and is Macron's only stepson. Becoming a very youthful stepfather to her three adult children, he told them at the wedding reception: 'Thanks for accepting us, a not-quite-normal couple.'" One minor factual correction to the post is that Macron has one stepson and two stepdaughters, not two stepsons and one stepdaughter.