French President Emmanuel Macron caused a stir after downing a bottle of Corona as Toulouse rugby players were cheered on after winning the domestic league title at the weekend.
It quickly moved from the French sporting gathering of Alège Les Bleus to Alège Les Bouzes for the 45-year-old leader after video emerged of him lobbing beer bottles in Toulouse’s changing room after a dramatic 29-26 win over La Rochelle. .
After being handed the beer and asked to down it one by one, Macron downed the bottle of Corona within 17 seconds and returned it to the counter to cheers from the Toulouse coaching staff and players following their win in the French Top 14 final at the Stade. Saturday night de France.
Macron, who watched the match from the VIP lounge, was seen smiling broadly and waving to the rugby players after downing the bottle in their changing room.
Afterwards, players and staff agreed to take a ‘pledge of silence’ against Macron’s antics, Le Figaro reported. But the footage surfaced on a French TV channel before it went viral on social media.
French President Emmanuel Macron caused a stir today when he downed a bottle of Corona as he was cheered on by Toulouse rugby players after winning the domestic league title at the weekend.
It quickly turned from the French sports gathering of Alège les Bleus to Allège les Booze for the 45-year-old leader after a video emerged of him inhaling a beer bottle in Toulouse’s changing room after a dramatic 29-26 win over La Rochelle.
After being handed the beer and asked to down it one by one, Macron downed the bottle of Corona within 17 seconds and returned it to the counter to cheers from the Toulouse coaching staff and players following their win in the French Top 14 final at the Stade. Saturday night de France.
Reaction to Macron’s antics was mixed – with some saying it was a ‘very nice, spontaneous moment’ while others condemned it as an example of ‘toxic masculinity’.
Toulouse coach Clément Poitrenaud said: ‘All I can tell you is that he got a good reception.
Toulouse mayor Jean-Luc Mauden told local French radio station France Blue: ‘It was a very beautiful, very spontaneous moment. The President was challenged to empty a bottle and he did it in seconds.
‘Later, he was heavily sprayed by the players who naturally let off steam after so much (match) excitement’.
But Greens MP Sandrine Russo shared the footage on Twitter and said: ‘Toxic masculinity in political leadership in one picture.’
‘A president who is sharing in the joy of the 23 players and sharing in their heritage. That’s all,’ replied ruling party MP Jean-René Cazeneuve.
Macron is an avid sports fan and is well known for his locker-room visits to French sports teams – but it doesn’t always go to plan.
In December, after Les Bleus lost the FIFA World Cup final in Qatar, Macron appeared in the team’s changing room to give an emotional pep talk after the game.
But the players, many of whom didn’t even look at Macron, appeared unimpressed and simply gave him a warm round of applause when he finished.
And toe-curling footage from the World Cup final showed Macron awkwardly trying to comfort French soccer star Kylian Mbappe on the pitch after France’s 4-2 penalty shootout loss to Argentina – only for the player to block the leader’s effort.
During the World Cup in December, Macron interrupted an emotional moment between French soccer star Kylian Mbappe and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
During the awards ceremony at the World Cup in December, Macron, who was handing out medals to distraught French players, tried to hug Mbappe again but he refused to make eye contact with the president and quickly moved on to shake hands with another official.
And Macron tried to take center-stage again after Toulouse’s win in the French Top 14 rugby final – this time downing a Corona beer.
Like most French presidents, Macron is often seen with wine in his hand, and he once claimed to drink a glass at lunch and another in the evening.
He also gave enthusiastic support to France’s famed wine industry, even thwarting efforts by public health authorities to promote the concept of ‘Dry January’ – turning the first month of the year into four weeks of abstinence from alcohol.
‘The president has a responsibility as a role model in setting a healthy example for behaviour,’ Bernard Basset of the charity Addictions France told the BFM channel on Monday.
‘In this case, he’s linking sports, parties and alcohol consumption in a context of viral peer-pressure where everyone drinks a little too much,’ he added.
‘It’s inappropriate,’ William Lowenstein, a doctor and addiction specialist, told the same channel. ‘You can do it, but not in front of the camera.’
The images could help the ratings of a politician who has long been criticized as out of touch with ordinary people.
His popularity fell to near-record lows in March and April this year as he pushed through a hugely unpopular rise to retirement age and was heckled by sections of the crowd as he walked onto the pitch before Saturday’s game.
His popularity was so low that it was considered better to shake hands with the players of the French Cup final in the corridor than on the pitch.
Although alcohol consumption has fallen in France over the past 50 years, around 49,000 people die each year from intoxication and excessive consumption is ‘one of the leading causes of hospitalisation’, according to the Ministry of Health.
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