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French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and his wife Brigitte. Michel Euler
Non Faire Lady

Macron abandons plan to make his wife France's first-ever First Lady

The wife of the French president has historically always played a public role at official functions.

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL Macron is preparing to backpedal on the issue of creating an official First Lady position for his wife in the face of attacks from left-wing opponents and a petition against the move, officials and reports said.

The newly elected 39-year-old president had promised in March on the campaign trail to create “a real status” for his wife Brigitte, who is his former schoolteacher.

The issue has become a new political headache for Macron after an online petition against creating the role garnered around 285,000 signatures and an opinion poll showed a majority of French people were also opposed.

The presidency will clarify Brigitte Macron’s position later this month or in early September, a member of her entourage said, adding that there would be no change to the constitution to create a First Lady position.

Government spokesman Christophe Castaner said in a tweet: “Brigitte Macron plays a role, has responsibilities. We want transparency and a framework for the means at her disposal.”

“The idea is for the French people to know how much this role costs,” Aurore Berge, a senior lawmaker from Macron’s Republic on the Move party, told Europe 1 radio.

The new status would have seen France copy the American tradition of a prominent public role for the First Lady. Neither country has ever had a female head of state.

Public role

The wife of the French president has historically always played a public role at official functions, welcoming heads of state or other VIPs at meetings or dinners.

She has a small security and secretarial staff paid for by the presidential budget, but she has no formal job title — like the partners of the British prime minister or German chancellor.

The staff of Valerie Trierweiler, the former partner of ex-president Francois Hollande, cost €400,000 in 2013, according to public figures.

The focus on the First Lady proposition comes at a bad time for Macron as opinion polls show his popularity slipping badly only three months after the young centrist clinched a sensational victory in May.

One survey published last week showed just 36% of respondents held a positive view of him.

© – AFP 2017

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