French President Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte Macron, pose for members of the media at the G-7 summit. Photo / AP
French President Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte Macron, pose for members of the media at the G-7 summit. Photo / AP
French President Emmanuel Macron has lashed out at Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro for "extraordinarily disrespectful comments" about his wife while insulting her looks.
Bolsonaro, in turn, said Macron's "ludicrous and unnecessary attacks on the Amazon" were unacceptable and accused him of treating the region "as if we were a colony".
The two leaders are currently embroiled in a feud over the fires that are raging through the Amazon rainforest, much of which is situated in Brazil, but their argument took a nasty turn when Bolsonaro endorsed a post on Facebook insulting the French first lady, Brigitte Macron.
A Bolsonaro supporter yesterday posted this meme mocking Brigitte Macron, 66, and comparing her unfavourably with Brazil's first lady 37-year-old Michelle Bolsonaro. Photo / Supplied
At 66, Brigitte is 25 years older than her husband, and the post compares Bolsonaro, 64 and his wife Michelle, 37, with a photo the Macrons.
The caption read, "Now you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?" Bolsonaro responded: "Do not humiliate the guy, ha ha," referring to Macron.
When asked about Bolsonaro's comment at the G7 summit on Monday, Macron condemned it, saying, "He said very disrespectful things about my wife, I have great respect for the Brazilian people and can only hope they soon have a president who is up to the job.
"Brazilian women are probably feeling ashamed of their president," he added.
"I think that Brazilians, who are a great people, will probably be ashamed to see this behaviour.
Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, with inset Michelle Bolsonaro. Photo / 123RF
"And as I feel friendship and respect towards the Brazilian people, I hope that they will very soon have a president who behaves in the right way."
Bolsonaro later hit back at the French leader with a thread of tweets and said Macron's "improper and wanton attacks on the Amazon" were "unreasonable".
He also said: "Other heads of state sympathised with Brazil, after all respect for the sovereignty of any country is the least that can be expected in a civilized world."
This latest row between the French and Brazilian leaders follows heated discussions on social media over Bolsonaro's reaction to the Amazon fires.
Macron shared a photo of the rainforest engulfed in flames last week with the caption, "Our house is burning, literally," and urging a response to the crisis.
Bolsonaro responded: "I regret that President Macron seeks to instrumentalise an internal issue of Brazil and other Amazonian countries for personal political gains.
"The sensationalist tone with which he refers to the Amazon (appealing even to fake photos) does nothing to solve the problem."
Macron announced over the weekend that the G7 countries would release 20 million euros ($35 million) to help fight the raging fires in the Amazon.
Bolsonaro, in turn, accused Macron of "unreasonable and unreasonable attacks on the Amazon" and said Macron disguises his intentions behind the idea of an "alliance" of the countries.
