He first showed his muscles in Ukraine. Now Emmanuel Macron has gone a step further, posting photos of himself hitting a punching bag in boxing gloves, showing off his strength in action.
The French president’s photographer posted two images on Instagram, days after he began taking a much harsher public line against Russia.
It wasn’t long before “Rocky” was trending on social media.
Others, however, inevitably asked the question whether the photos were “retouched”.
Doubters pointed to the size of his biceps in the photos while also posting earlier photos of him with a skinnier arm.
Others joked and tweeted the photos, taken by Soazing de la Moissonnière, saying they showed Macron, a keen boxer, preparing to face Russia and its 71-year-old president, Vladimir Putin. They were published less than seven days after the French president suggested that sending Western troops to Ukraine was not out of the question. Speaking on French television last Thursday, he warned that Russia was seeking to expand its power and would not stop.
“If we leave Ukraine alone, if we let Ukraine lose this war, then Russia will certainly threaten Moldova, Romania and Poland,” he said.
The pictures will not go unnoticed by his opponent in the Kremlin, who has been photographed bare-chested on several occasions to show off his personal fitness.
Gaspard Gantzer, a well-known public relations expert, told the Nice-Matin newspaper that the president wanted to show that “he is French like any other … that he is in excellent physical shape … that he wants to fight.”
Broadcaster CNews said of the pictures: “In the two photos we see the head of state ready to fight, his gaze fixed on the punching bag.” “It’s like he’s determined to defeat his opponents. The features, the bulging muscles, the clenched teeth, the president looks like a true warrior.”
French women’s weekly Femme Actuelle took a more flattering view, saying the photos were “a hit” while also pointing out the bulging biceps.
However, not everyone in France liked the photos. Sandrine Rousseau, the opposition MP for the Greens, posted the photo on Twitter with the comment: “What a misery of politics!”
“The pose seems to be to the advantage,” wrote the French daily Le Figaro, but added that the photos “caused a lot of ridicule.”
Macron is on a long list of politicians who wanted to show off their athletic prowess. President Putin is shown in many photos while riding a horse shirtless, and he is no stranger to taking pictures during hockey games or releasing judo DVDs.
Macron has previously been on the front pages and photographed with his shirt unbuttoned in a relaxed fashion. His wife Brigitte Macron said in November that the president practices boxing twice a week, BBC writes.
