Bridget Macron

And yet, that's the paradox with Brigitte Macron. Tradition combined with modernity.

It would be pretty stupid for any intelligent woman to model themselves on Madame Bovary these days. It’s very far from a romantic story.

I love Flaubert, but if, for example, I had a body covered in bruises, the truth would be that I had been physically attacked/had an accident/self harmed. ‘My truth’ would be obvious to all and would be the truth.

As I said earlier, no speculating or assumptions from me. Just an interest in the discussions surrounding the story. I don't know, no one does.

I can recommend Madame Bovary, and if anyone is interested, (probably not), also reading a bit around the author Gustave Flaubert. A Master in the art of suggestion, and writing with such subtle nuances. Every word chosen so carefully.
Before I bore everyone to tears, I'll leave you with a fitting quote of his,
Il n’y a pas de vérité. Il n’y a que la perception. There is no truth. There is only one's perception.
(Lesson over!)

Goodness knows what went on between them I'm just saying that it's wrong to speculate without any evidence. She was never his teacher but he was a classmate of her daughter, she ran the drama group that I believe was extra curricula, not that it matters if she behaved inappropriately but there's absolutely no evidence that she did. Lots of teachers have the experience of pupils having a crush on them and a few go on to have relationships once that pupil has left school, which is what Macron did many years after meeting Brigitte in a school situation. I'm just not willing to make assumptions about how she behaved without evidence. I must read Madame Bovary!

There's no doubt that Brigitte was attracted to Macron for his intelligence. He was exceptionally bright, but also intensely interested in her subject too. I think Brigitte's daughter in the same class told her mum that Macron knew absolutely everything!

I'm not sure what I'm saying here, ...... but a professional teacher should foster the pupil's interests in an area without becoming heavily involved. One example is, how Macron knew at an early age how Brigitte modelled herself on Emma in Madame Bovary, (he wrote a school essay about how everyone is an Emma inside). Now, I defy anyone at 15 years old to understand the depths of emotions in that novel until they have lived those feelings of longing and desire. (I was certainly 30+).

Is there any evidence that Brigitte was predatory or behaved inappropriately? Everything that I've read seems to suggest that it was Macron who had, what most would describe as a teenage crush, on the woman who ran the drama group he joined. She says she was attracted to his intelligence, stayed married and I've not seen any suggestion that she did anything unlawful. I'm absolutely not in any way condoning any unlawful or predatory behaviour by an older woman it's just there doesn't seem to be any evidence that there was any.

Proof of what ?

What seems strange to me, is that Macron's parents -both doctors - didn't make a complaint against Brigitte at the time. They obviously saw what was happening under their noses, because Macron's mother urged his father to have a word with their schoolboy son about stopping his attachment to his teacher.
I'm guessing that without any proof, they couldn't pursue the case, so took the easier option to send Macron off to Paris.

Mt61. Exactly so

Looking at my 14 yr old Newphew, I would be horrified if someone over 18 made a beeline for him, never mind, the age BM was when she took a fancy to EM. That goes for older male hitting on a young girl. It’s not right.

Sorry Rosie51, the eye roll was because of age difference between BM & EM, nothing you said.

Ha, maybe not Oreo

Oreo

Mt61

I do think the French & Italians give us British woman & men, a run for our money. Always elegant & smart.

Not the ones in France and Italy who live in villages tho.

The French less so, but I’ve never seen an Italian person, make or female, in a fleece and joggers with trainers out in a town or village in Italy when it’s colder. They wear more tailored, neat clothes. I think the average Italian is definitely better turned out than the average Brit. We obviously have some honourable exceptions, but on the whole we are no longer a nation of sartorial dressers.

Mt61

Rosie51

It's not the age difference that causes concern but the fact he was a 15 year old boy and her his nearly 40 years old teacher when they first connected. The power imbalance coupled with the age difference was surely a safeguarding red flag? They seem happy together and if they'd met outside of a school setting when he was an adult I expect few eyebrows would be raised. Would you be so dismissive of concerns had it have been a 40 year old male teacher and his 15 year old female pupil?

I think Percy was well into his 30s when he met Joan & not a 14 year old school kid 🙄

Sorry I don't understand this post???? I'm referencing Macron and Brigette in answer to varian's reference to the Trumps and Joan Collins. I have made no reference to Joan and her husband. Perhaps let the eyeroll relax back down?

My Italian sister IL lives in a village in Italy. She wears Prada to go to the market.

Mt61

I do think the French & Italians give us British woman & men, a run for our money. Always elegant & smart.

Not the ones in France and Italy who live in villages tho.

Exactly - the concern is not the age difference now or when they married
It’s the fact the sexual attraction has been acknowledged by both of them to have been present when he was 15 and she a married mother of three, one of daughters in the same class as EM
They worked on a school production together. She’s reported to have said it was like working with a young Mozart
Red flag safeguarding issue
She should have extricated herself from the kind of close involvement working on a production involves.
Her daughter has said listening to others gossiping was very difficult. Imagine doing your GcSE and your fellow pupils gossiping about your mum, a teacher at your school

Rosie51

It's not the age difference that causes concern but the fact he was a 15 year old boy and her his nearly 40 years old teacher when they first connected. The power imbalance coupled with the age difference was surely a safeguarding red flag? They seem happy together and if they'd met outside of a school setting when he was an adult I expect few eyebrows would be raised. Would you be so dismissive of concerns had it have been a 40 year old male teacher and his 15 year old female pupil?

I think Percy was well into his 30s when he met Joan & not a 14 year old school kid 🙄

Rosie51

It's not the age difference that causes concern but the fact he was a 15 year old boy and her his nearly 40 years old teacher when they first connected. The power imbalance coupled with the age difference was surely a safeguarding red flag? They seem happy together and if they'd met outside of a school setting when he was an adult I expect few eyebrows would be raised. Would you be so dismissive of concerns had it have been a 40 year old male teacher and his 15 year old female pupil?

Exactly!

It's not the age difference that causes concern but the fact he was a 15 year old boy and her his nearly 40 years old teacher when they first connected. The power imbalance coupled with the age difference was surely a safeguarding red flag? They seem happy together and if they'd met outside of a school setting when he was an adult I expect few eyebrows would be raised. Would you be so dismissive of concerns had it have been a 40 year old male teacher and his 15 year old female pupil?

The 24 year age difference between the Macrons is the same as the Trumps. Why is it OK only if the man is older? Joan Collins is 32 years older than her husband but they seem fine.

GrannyGravy13

There are millions of women who look fabulous every day, at every age.

The whole French elegance trope is rather outdated.

And the amount of money you are able to spend on looking fabulous has a lot to do with it.

Looked like it was staged for the public's benefit escaped

There's lots of newspaper photos here in France of a jubilant Macron literally dragging Brigitte into the PSG celebrations at the Élysee Palace. They look all smiles and laughter together, a bit like they were at The Olympic Games in Paris. Difficult to say whether their lives are all about staging.

I think of late she is looking quite frail, although quite possibly she isn't based on what we've seen. I too think she's looking older than her age, inspite of the very expensive clothes, she has such a tiny physique which I'm inclined to think gives her an elderly woman demeanor. Fragile bones maybe? My mother definitely shrunk as she got older, a propensity to osteoporosis l, late '80s she had fairly spindly legs and ate like a sparrow, I tend to associate a wasted physiology with old age.