May 19, 2017, 13:00

It’s not a problem for us to be a year old
If the soul is young

Interest in the main couple of France continues unabated. Many are wondering why the Macron spouses do not have children together - after all, they have been together for 20 years, which means they had a chance to become parents.

Now Emmanuel Macron is 39 years old, and his wife Brigitte is 64.

Three children and seven grandchildren

Brigitte and Emmanuel have their beloved four-legged friend Dogue Figaro living in their house; the couple is often visited by the two daughters and son of the first lady of France.

« I don't need biological children and grandchildren“, Macron said in an interview with BMFTV, explaining that he and Brigitte do not have common children by mutual agreement.

At the same time, in their house on weekends, children’s laughter and the screams of the wife’s grandchildren: “Daddy” (“grandfather” - from French) can be heard. The President adores his wife’s grandchildren and considers them his own. In conversations, Emmanuel exclusively says “our grandchildren”: he knows how to bottle feed babies and play with older ones. There are seven grandchildren in the family, and the little one, feeling Emmanuel’s love, adores him in return. The man is grateful to Brigitte, among other things, for bringing a ready-made, real big family into his life. “We were together, despite everything. Soon her children, their spouses, and our grandchildren appeared in my life. Our family is the foundation of my whole life,” Macron wrote in his book.

Bridget and daughters

First Lady of France Brigitte Macron (nee Tronier) was born on April 13, 1953 in the small town of Amiens in northern France into the family of a millionaire chocolatier, where she was the youngest of six children. The company of her five-generation confectionery dynasty produces, in particular, macarons. The factory, founded by his ancestors back in 1872, is still famous throughout the country for its delicious cookies and brings in four million euros a year.

At the age of 21, she married banker Andre Louis Ozier and subsequently gave birth to three children: son Sebastian and daughters Laurence and Tiffany.

Son Sebastian is older than Emmanuel, middle daughter Laurence is the same age as the president (they studied with Emmanuel in the same class) , the youngest Tifeng is 33 years old.

Emmanuel was born in December 1977 in the town of Amiens, in northern France. His parents were people from science: his father Jean-Michel Macron, a professor of neurology, taught at the University of Picardy, his mother Françoise was a doctor of medical sciences.

Children and grandchildren call daddy and mommy Brigitte and Emmanuel - Bibi and Manya.

How did this tender love story begin? Shall we remember?

young Macron

Love is like a dream

Having received a pedagogical education, Brigitte taught in Paris, then worked in Strasbourg. In 1991, she moved to the city of Amiens, where she taught French and Latin at the Jesuit high school La providence.

There she led a theater group.

Brigitte Macron while working at the school where the future President of France studied

Daughter Laurent told her mother, French language and literature teacher Brigitte, that in her class there is a boy who knows more than others. Emmanuel met his future wife in a theater group led by Brigitte.

“He came to the casting for roles in the performance, and I looked at him. I found him incredible, he was so charming. Without a doubt, he was different from the rest of the students. He was always with the teachers. He just wasn’t a teenager, he communicated with adults on equal terms,” said Bridget.

They immediately sung together- and began to come up with plays for the school theater. We became so friendly that we could talk about almost any topic.

One French channel showed footage of the president’s school years: Macron played the role of a scarecrow, the audience applauded, director Brigitte came on stage... She was 40 years old at the time, and he was 15. Macron quickly became the woman’s favorite student (at that time the banker’s wife) – she constantly praised his works, without hesitation.

And the boy, of course, could not resist such an onslaught of adoration... " We talked for hours, wrote plays and it became clear that we had known each other all our lives.", says Emmanuel.

The guy grew up talented: he studied brilliantly - he was a child prodigy, played football, boxed, attended the conservatory, played the piano and won prizes at music competitions. How can you not fall in love with someone like that?

Is it like the movie "Diary of a Scandal" (where the teacher, Cate Blanchett, has a love affair with a charming schoolboy to her death)? You are absolutely right. Macron became Brigitte's favorite student. Classmates recall that she praised his every essay, and read some passages aloud in literature lessons to set an example for others. " He wrote poems, and she read them aloud to the whole class.“, a school friend of the future politician shared with Le Parisien.

He wrote poetry - in France even boys do this without fear, since writing poetry is included in the school curriculum. But you can do it for a mark, or you can do it with pleasure. Macron did this with pleasure, and the literature teacher promised him the fate of a writer. Reveling in their emotional and intellectual community, they wrote plays together for the school theater. “This lasted for months,” says Macron. - When we finished the play, we decided to stage it together. We talked about everything. Writing the play was just an excuse. It became clear that we had actually always known each other."

Macron was a good pianist: he studied at the Amiens Conservatory for ten years and won prizes at music competitions. He also played football and was into boxing. " I felt like I was dealing with Mozart"- Brigitte later said.

He’s also a handsome guy who understands the teacher at a glance.

However, the parents of the young lover really did not like this tender love story.

Emmanuel's father, Jean-Michel Macron, forbade Bridget to communicate with their son. When Emmanuel was 17 years old, his parents sent him to study in Paris, at the elite gymnasium named after Henry IV.

For several years, Brigitte attacked the young handsome man with letters.

Emmanuel while studying in France

Brigitte moved to Paris, where her boy was studying diligently at that time: he graduated from the local MGIMO - Sciences Po Institute, and entered the ENA, which trains senior civil servants.

“Then I thought that if I didn’t do this, my life would be wasted“Tronier said in a video interview.

Brigitte's husband (a banker) left her, but at first he did not want to give a divorce.

Bridget's love for Macron never left her heart.

Later, Brigitte finally received a divorce.

Bridget divorced her husband to be with Macron. At that time, Emmanuel was just beginning his journey in big politics, and Bridget became a teacher at one of the religious schools in Paris.

Before officially legitimizing their relationship, Macron and Tronier simply lived together for several years. They did not advertise their relationship for a long time.

The couple officially became husband and wife in 2007. Wedding at Brigitte's villa (her father is a famous pastry chef, a millionaire) in the fashionable beach resort of Le Touquet, where Brigitte inherited a luxurious villa, which today serves as the couple's second home..

Brigitte's daughters came to the wedding.

During his wedding speech, Emmanuel thanked Bridget's parents and children for supporting their union. The young groom admitted that although he and his beloved are not a “normal couple,” they are still a “real couple.”

Macron promised to justify their trust.

The French President wears two rings on his ring fingers as a sign of love for his wife: an engagement ring and a talisman ring. And Brigitte, despite her successful, wealthy husband, continued to work as a teacher at the lyceum.

Macron was educated at three prestigious universities: first he studied philosophy at the University of West Paris - Nanterre-la-Défense, and then entered graduate school at the elite National School of Administration. After training, he worked as a civil servant for several years and then became an investment banker at Rothschild & Cie Banque - which is why he was dubbed the Rothschild candidate in the presidential race.

During the French presidential campaign, where Le Pen and Macron clashed over immigration and politics, Brigitte gave up teaching in 2015 to support her husband. At a reception in honor of the King of Spain in June 2015, the couple appeared together for the first time. Photos of the spouses made the rounds in magazines and blogs. Macron commanded the ministry and defended the law he developed on economic development before parliament. His wife worked with him - on a voluntary basis. .

Bridget helps Emmanuel write speeches and make decisions, but she doesn’t want to become a politician herself. It is enough for her that she can support her husband.

Brigitte and Emmanuelle appeared on the August cover of Paris Match.

Among the photographs of the Macrons inside the magazine was an absolutely marvelous one: a happy couple walking along the shore and meeting a nudist. A man much more suitable for Brigitte in age looks at her, and even the expression of his buttocks, drooping in amazement, says: “What are you doing with this guy who is old enough to be your son?” And with what interest Emmanuel looked at the nudist...

But such an option would be possible...

She told those around her that they would hear not only true, but also false rumors about her husband. There were already rumors about a cheerful affair with Mathieu Gallet, the head of Radio France.

« It was unpleasant for Brigitte" he said during the February campaign. Macron has always been considered a real diplomat, and he answers all gossip clearly and concisely, making it clear that for him his family and his beloved wife are important and respected. “If, while discussing gossip in the kitchen or in a private letter, you are told that I am leading a double life and dating Mathieu Galle or someone else, then this is my hologram, but not me!” , Macron jokingly commented on the situation with the head of the radio station, thus closing this topic.

Mathieu Galle, at 40, made a dizzying career in his 40s thanks to his lover - ex-minister Frédéric Mitterrand, nephew of the President of the Republic François Mitterrand (Frederic Mitterrand below in the photo).

Frederic Mitterrand

The politician built his entire career under the strict guidance of his wife - from a simple civil servant through the position of an investment banker in the Rothschild bank and to the portfolio of Minister of Finance in the Hollande government.

And let someone say that she “led him by the hand when he was still a child” or that he is “a good young man with an attractive mother.”

In the end, it is not so important what exactly happens behind the closed doors of the family residence and what the sex life of the future first couple is like. This couple openly demonstrates the relationship of equal strong personalities who managed to build an effective partnership. Brigitte herself once admitted with a smile that “he’s very good in bed too.” True, in a healthy society this should not have such an exaggerated significance.

“If I am elected, or rather not - if we are elected,” Emmanuel Macron was touchingly confused in his wording on the eve of the first round of elections, “Brigitte will undoubtedly have a place on my team, a separate post and her own mission.”

She went to this for a long time..

And the first lady succeeded.

On Sunday, May 7, the founder of the political movement “Forward!” Emmanuel Macron won a landslide victory in the second round of the French presidential election. This is evidenced by exit polls and the first official data provided by the French Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is responsible for organizing the vote and summing up its results.

French TV channels France 2 and TF1 were the first to provide information on exit polls. Macron, 39, received the support of 65.1 percent of voters.

The French Interior Ministry, after processing more than 4 million ballots, reported that Macron was in the lead with a result of 60.19 percent. 39.81 percent of voters voted for Marine Le Pen. It is also noted that among the processed ballots, 359 thousand are blank and 160 thousand are spoiled.

Although the official results of the presidential elections in France will be announced only on May 11, the world community has already begun to congratulate Emmanuel Macron. But what is known about the future president of France? website I decided to look into this.

1. The youngest president in the history of the country

The 25th President of France is only 39 years old. He is the youngest French president in the history of the post. Before this, the youngest president was considered the first president of the French Republic, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, aka Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon I. When he took office, he was 40 years old.

Macron is also considered the youngest Minister of Economy in France; he headed the department at the age of 37.

2. Career success

Macron graduated from Sciences Po, which is considered the best educational institution for politicians. His career began in 2004 at the Ministry of Economy. Member of the Socialist Party from 2006 to 2009.

After getting married in 2007, he immediately bought an apartment in Paris for a million euros and later included it in the declaration. According to the declaration, Macron earned 3.3 million euros from 2009 to 2014 from various positions in the banking sector.

In 2008, Macron was hired by Rothschild & Cie Banque, where he made a rapid career and rose from analyst to partner in just four years. His commissions amounted to more than a million euros per year.

Returned to the ministry in 2012. From 2014 to 2016 he served as Minister of Economy.

3. Behind every successful man is a wise woman

He is married to Brigitte Macron, who is almost 25 years his senior at 64. Brigitte was his schoolteacher with whom he fell in love at age 15. And on his 17th birthday, Emmanuel told Bridget: “No matter what you do, no matter how you dodge me, I will marry you.” The piquancy of the situation is that Bridget was already married and had three children.

In 2007, Bridget divorced and married Emmanuel. At the time of her marriage, she was 54. The couple has no children together. The wife’s children are almost the same age as Macron. He is not only the stepfather of Bridget's children, but also the stepfather-grandfather of his grandchildren.

At a meeting of the Forward! On March 8, Bridget appeared on stage next to her husband, kissed him on the lips and even said a few words, which slightly shocked those present. Macron has repeatedly stated that his wife plays a major role in his campaign, and in the future, perhaps, will become the main one in the Elysee Palace.

Macron long ago and consciously decided to share his political career with his wife, “to whom he owes a lot.” It was she, according to Macron, who played a decisive role in his development as a person and as a politician. However, Bridget Macron herself has no intention of becoming a politician. She just wants to “be close.”

4. Supporter of the European Union and integration

Leader of the Forward! believes that France needs rapprochement with Europe. He plans to create a eurozone parliament and budget. Macron stands for the preservation and reform of the European Union, free trade and “an open, confident, victorious France.”

He supports increased influence and increased funding for the intelligence services, army and police in matters of counter-terrorism. In relation to migrants and refugees, he supports an open door policy, and also plans to reduce taxes and simplify the migration procedure for talented foreigners.

5. Emphasis on socially significant things

Macron for paying unemployment benefits to more people, including private entrepreneurs. In addition, he places an emphasis on education and the need to transition to renewable energy sources. Plans to allocate 50 billion euros for vocational training for small businesses.

6. Not a supporter of Russia on the world stage

Macron is not sympathetic to Russia and will continue the policy of previous President Francois Hollande regarding the Ukrainian issue.

“I will not submit to Putin’s dictates, and this is my difference from Madame Le Pen,” a quote from one of Macron’s speeches.

Macron fell in love with Brigitte Tronier at the age of 16 when... The French media write about their romance rather sparingly - one can imagine what our journalists would dig up if there was something similar in the biography of one of our presidential candidates. What psychological characteristics prompted Monsieur Macron to marry a divorced madam with three children, and even with such an age difference?

“In a stable marriage with a woman much older than himself, a man who is ambitious, but at the same time driven,” explains the psychologist Alina Kolesova. - The origins of the tendency to find a “mother” in a wife may lie in early childhood, when a boy needs closeness to his mother, and she does not devote enough time to him. Then he tries to meet her standards (in this case, this is study and career), but at the same time he is looking for someone who will replace his busy mother in the sense of mentoring - and often teachers or mother’s friends find themselves in this role. This is the so-called Oedipus complex - a subconscious sexual attraction to the mother, which in the post-pubertal period transforms into a sexual desire for women older than oneself.

In such couples, the woman usually acts as a mentor not only in family affairs, but also manages the public and social life of her husband. If we turn to similar couples, we will see that in stable marriages with an age difference in favor of the woman, the wife is always a strong woman who has enormous influence on her husband. As for the women themselves, many of them claim that it is after 50 that sex begins to truly please them. The need to use protection disappears, the woman’s hormonal levels and mood stabilize. The only problem may be a life partner - a peer who, due to his age, can no longer satisfy the increased sexual appetites of his beloved.”

FROM THE MK DOSSIER

From the history:

All of Catherine the Second's favorites were younger than her, and her last love, Platon Zubov, was already 41 years old.

Isadora Duncan was 18 years older than her last husband, Sergei Yesenin.

The legendary Mata Hari was more than 20 years older than her beloved Russian officer Vadim Maslov.

Laura de Verney, Balzac's greatest and longest love, was 22 years older than the writer.

Salvador Dali fell in love with his Gala (Elena Diakova) when he was 26 and she was 37, and thanks to her he became famous.

Benjamin Disraeli, an English politician, at the age of 35 married a wealthy widow 12 years older than himself.

From recent history: the difference is in favor of a strong woman

27 years old - Alla Pugacheva and Maxim Galkin.

23 years old - Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson.

13 years old - Larisa Dolina and Ilya Spitsyn.

13 years old - actor Hugh Jackman and producer Deborah Lee-Lewis.

12 years old - Lolita Milyavskaya and Dmitry Ivanov.

10 years - Shakira and Gerard Piquer.

8 years old - Evgeni Plushenko and Yana Rudkovskaya.

Emmanuel Macron.

Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Trognier pose during lunch in Bagnères-de-Bigorre (Pyrenees Mountains in France), where they visited as part of the election campaign. Photo: Reuters

Brigitte and Emmanuel have been married for 10 years; Macron fell in love with her while still a schoolboy. Emmanuel was 15 and she was 39, the same as he is now. She was married to banker Andre-Louis Ozier, whom she married at age 20, and raised three daughters.

Brigitte taught French in Macron's class at the private school La Providence, and also led a theater group there. By the way, Brigitte’s daughter also studied in the same class with Emmanuel.

Brigitte and Emmanuel during school 20 years ago. Images from the school archive
Macron while at school. Images from the school archive

Brigitte was born in the city of Amiens in northern France, like Macron. Her father owned a pastry shop, but she did not continue the family business and chose teaching.

Emmanuel's parents tried to prevent their son's hobby. According to the author of a biography of Macron, journalist Anna Fulda, they asked the teacher to stay away. Macron himself was eventually sent to study in another city.

Brigitte Trognier during a visit to the settlement of Oradour-sur-Glane in France, where more than 600 local residents were killed in 1944. The ruins became a memorial and museum. Photo: Reuters

However, 17-year-old Macron promised his beloved that one day he would marry her. He kept his promise as he stood up. They got married when he was about 30 and she was over 50.

The wedding took place in Le Touque in 2007. The bride chose a short white dress. Images: France 3 TV channel

Now the mother of the new French president is calm about her son’s choice and considers Brigitte more of a friend than a daughter-in-law. And once the mother asked not to ruin her son’s life and insisted that the woman would not be able to give Macron children, said biographer Anna Fulda.

Daughter Laurence and granddaughter of the First Lady of France leave Macron's campaign headquarters after the results of the second round of voting were announced, May 7, 2017. Photo: Reuters

The couple has no children together. Macron said he does not need biological heirs. He accepted his wife's family, and they babysit her grandchildren together.

Cover of Paris Match magazine

On stage during the rally on election day on May 7, when Macron won, in addition to Brigitte, were her daughter Laurence and granddaughter. The second daughter, Tiffany, worked as a lawyer on Macron’s headquarters.

Brigitte lives in Paris with her husband; she devoted herself to her husband’s career. They say she influenced his attitude towards women in politics. Half of the list of parliamentary candidates released by Macron's movement is women.

Emmanuel and Brigitte attend a Women's Day event in Paris. Photo: Reuters
A married couple poses for a photo outside the city of Le Touque, France. Photo: Reuters

Macron himself stated that he wants his wife to be not just the first lady of the country, but also to work next to him during his presidency. The first lady will have some kind of position and area of ​​responsibility, but the details are not yet known.

Macron and his wife at the political congress of the Forward! party he heads. Photo: Reuters
Macron with his wife at the annual evening of the Representative Council of Jewish Associations of France, Paris. Photo: Reuters
A kiss from the future presidential couple after the announcement of the preliminary results of the first round of the presidential election. Photo: Reuters

The press wrote that Macron has a young mistress, and also that the significant age difference with his wife is a cover for the man’s homosexuality. However, there was no evidence of this, and Macron himself believes that such rumors indicate the level of homophobia in the country.

Demonstrators wearing Brigitte and Macron masks take part in a May Day march in Marseille. Photo: Reuters
Mrs. Tronier places a ballot in the box during the second round of the presidential election. Photo: Reuters

Macron said that a large age difference between a man and a woman is not of particular interest if the man is older. When the situation is the opposite, many consider it something out of the ordinary.

“If I were 20 years older than my wife, no one would have the idea that our marriage is insincere,” Macron said in an interview with Le Parisien.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi spoke about the new French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, who is much older than her husband.

He called the leader of the Fifth Republic “a good young man with an attractive mother,” reports News in the World. According to the politician, Macron’s wife Brigitte “led him by the hand when he was still a child.” As noted by the British publication The Telegraph, Berlusconi's words refer to the fact that the current 39-year-old French leader is the youngest head of state in the country's history after Napoleon Bonaparte. The latter became emperor at the age of 35.

Let us remind you that Brigitte Tronier is 24 years older than her husband. This fact caused a mixed reaction in the media, as well as among social network users. As the French press noted earlier, it will be extremely difficult for the wife of the new president of the country to establish herself as the first lady.

At the same time, the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, known for its scandalous works, recently published a new cartoon. This time the victims of the pranksters were the presidential couple. Thanks to the imagination of illustrators, the wife of the leader of France appeared pregnant on the cover. The picture shows the head of the Fifth Republic touching his wife's swollen belly. A little higher is the inscription in French: “He is going to work miracles.” Her daughter Tiphaine Ozier has already responded to such open ridicule and other attacks on Brigitte. She declared the inadmissibility of such attacks against the First Lady of France. “I find disgusting attacks that would not be possible if it were a male politician or a male partner of a female politician. It’s just envy,” the girl said. The newly-minted president himself believes that there is nothing strange in his alliance with Brigitte, and all attacks on this topic are a manifestation of double standards. “If I were 20 years older than my wife, no one would think about whether we were suitable for each other,” Macron said in an interview with the Telegraph newspaper. In addition, he demolished the assumption that appeared during the election race that he was a homosexual, and his mature wife was a cover for his unconventional preferences. “People have lost their sense of reality since they don’t believe in my marriage and attribute some kind of parallel life to me, plus they have problems with tolerance,” the French leader emphasized.