The internet is buzzing about awkward photos showing French President Emmanuel Macron sharing a touchy-feely moment with his sports minister during the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony with some comparing the affectionate display to a lovers’ embrace.
The photo shows Macron, 46, tightly gripping the arm of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, 46, a former professional tennis player who is the country’s minister of sports and, as one X user pointed out, his subordinate.
Oudéa-Castéra in turn clutches Macron’s bicep with one hand, the other wrapped affectionately around his neck while planting a kiss on the French leader’s neck.
Exacerbating the photo’s cringe factor is the
positioning of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who appears to be conspicuously averting his gaze from the display.
“Gabriel Attal, he pretends to look elsewhere! He doesn’t know where to stand!” one user wrote.
“It’s my lover that I’m kissing like this. Embarrassing,” said another.
“I find this photo indecent, it’s not worthy of a president and a minister,” a disapproving poster seethed.
The curious photo was brought to people’s attention by French magazine Madame Figaro, which called the kiss “strange” and claimed Oudéa-Castéra had a penchant for drawing attention to herself.
Oudéa-Castéra — or AOC, as she’s known in France, believe it or not — has been front and center as the first Olympics in France in 100 years has come to life.
Earlier this month, she took a dip in the Seine River to allay fears of unsafe E.coli levels in the famous waterway, where several events are scheduled to take place during the games.
A pre-race triathlon event in it was canceled Sunday over water quality concerns.
Macron named Oudéa-Castéra France’s education minister in January, but removed her from the role after less than a month following revelations that she had her children educated at posh private schools and made disparaging remarks about public schools where she lived.
Not every commenter on X was scandalized by the celebratory hug.
One user defended it as “a slightly warm congratulation to celebrate the moment.”