Emmanuel Macron wears ‘industrial amounts’ of cologne and has a box of ‘ugly’ sunglasses which he uses to mock his aides, according to a bombshell new book.
One extract reveals how, in what is considered a bizarre power play, the French president sprays on so much Dior Eau Savage that his staff can smell him before he enters a room.
Another claims Mr Macron insists on keeping a box of sunglasses ‘each uglier than the last’ to be given to guests when they forget their own, in an apparent attempt to further assert his dominance.
The Tragedy of the Elysée, by Le Parisien journalist Olivier Beaumont, says Mr Macron applies the £104 cologne ‘at all hours of the day’ and always has a bottle on hand, reports The Telegraph.
The book reads: ‘Less-accustomed visitors may find themselves overcome by the floral and musky scent, as refined as it is powerful. It is a sign of one thing: that the president is in the building.’
It continues: ‘Just as Louis XIV made his perfumes an attribute of power when he paraded through the galleries of Versailles, Emmanuel Macron uses his as an element of his authority at the Elysée.’
A former aide quoted in the book said: ‘When Emmanuel Macron enters the room, you can feel it.’
Emmanuel Macron wears ‘industrial amounts’ of cologne and has a box of ‘ugly’ sunglasses which he uses to mock his aides, according to a new book on life at the Elysée Palace
The book reads: ‘Less-accustomed visitors may find themselves overcome by the floral and musky scent, as refined as it is powerful. It is a sign of one thing: that the president is in the building’
Last year Mr Macron’s personal photographer Soazing de la Moissonnière caused quite a stir in France when she released two images depicting the French President pounding a punchbag
The aide described it as a way of asserting his authority ‘almost like marking his territory.’
Dior is part of Bernard Arnault’s LVMH empire. He is France and Europe’s richest person and is seen as close to President Macron.
Mr Macron’s wife, Brigitte, wears Louis Vuitton, also an Arnault brand.
The book notes that Brigitte will spray herself with her husband’s perfume ‘to have the feeling that her man is not very far away’.
In another extract, it transpires Mr Macron also insists upon aides keeping a box of dark glasses to be given to people he quizzes in the Elysée garden when the sun is out in case they have forgotten to bring their own pair.
He has a case ‘containing about 20 pairs of second-hand glasses, of all shapes, not really fashionable, some with crooked arms, others with red rims, “even a little ridiculous”, from which you have to choose in order to be allowed to stay.’
The book cites one minister as saying he believes this is one of Mr Macron’s power plays.
Macron’s PR drive is not centred around overt aggression and sporting prowess. It takes a more subtle tack, seeking to portray the Head of State as the complete package – a man other men want to be, and women want to be with. Pictured: Macron pets a dog as he sits at his desk in the Elysee Palace
French President Emmanuel Macron riding his jetski during holidays in Fort de Bregancon, South of France
Unlike Putin’s serious, stonefaced photoshoots, the official images of Macron by de la Moissonnière are more tasteful
‘Clearly, it’s not meant to make us look good. I even wonder if, deep down, he doesn’t get a kick out of seeing us with these things. We look so stupid,’ the minister said.
He explained: ‘Once you’ve borrowed one of these pairs, you don’t want to forget to bring your own.’
Last year Mr Macron’s personal photographer Soazing de la Moissonnière caused quite a stir in France when she released two images depicting the French President pounding a punchbag.
With his face a picture of steely resolve as chiselled biceps rippled from beneath his shirt, the black-and-white shots of Macron were received as a display of ‘ultimate virility’ according to French newspaper Nice-Matin.
Many posited that the projection of machismo and strength comes as part of a PR offensive as the French President takes a harder stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, with Macron having paused longstanding efforts to maintain a closer bond with his counterpart in Moscow Vladimir Putin.
But in reality, Macron’s pugilistic photo-op is just the latest in a years-long campaign of staged shoots designed to portray the Elysee Palace chief as a dashing, capable and admirable representative of France and her interests.
It’s a self-aggrandising PR play that appears to have been ripped directly from the playbook of Putin himself – perhaps the world leader most adept at deploying the power of persona to cultivate domestic support – with a few added tweaks.
Now, MailOnline takes a look at some of Macron’s most narcissistic snaps, distributed by his personal lenswoman and army of press officers, and how they’re harnessed to cultivate his image in the eyes of the French public.
The Russian President has for more than two decades harnessed the influence of his state-controlled media empire to create a personality cult, displaying himself as a fit and strong man-in-charge.
Images of Judo black-belt Putin effortlessly tossing martial arts experts over his shoulder, galloping bare-chested on horseback and plunging stone-faced into icy lakes were routinely plastered on billboards and beamed into the living rooms of every Russian citizen.
But Macron’s PR drive is not centred around overt aggression and sporting prowess.
It takes a more subtle tack, seeking to portray the Head of State as the complete package – a man other men want to be, and women want to be with.
Unlike Putin’s serious, stonefaced photoshoots, the official images of Macron by de la Moissonnière are more tasteful.
They capture the French leader’s looks, confidence and charm as much as his masculinity and physical capabilities.
From pictures of the President flashing a winning smile as he lounged on a mustard colour sofa with a crisp, unbuttoned shirt revealing his hairy chest, to the notorious portrait of Macron wearing a Zelensky-style hoody as he strode into the Golden Room of the Elysee Palace in the early days of the Ukraine war – many of the snaps seek to display him as a man of versatility and character, rather than a hard-nosed, no-nonsense statesman.
His photographic oeuvre reads like a catalogue of calculated nonchalance, with each image serving a dual purpose: to humanise the politician and to project an aura of charisma.