Brigitte Macron’s sexist slur video triggers controversy
Brigitte Macron was facing criticism on Tuesday after a video emerged of France’s first lady using a sexist slur to denounce feminist protesters who disrupted a Paris comedy show the previous night.
The scene, filmed Sunday, showed Macron backstage at the Folies Bergère theater in Paris speaking with actor and humorist Ary Abittan before his performance. Feminist campaigners had interrupted his show the night before, shouting “Abittan, rapist!” from the audience.
In the video, Macron asks Abittan how he is feeling. When he replies that he is scared, she uses a derogatory, sexist term to describe the women and adds: “We’ll toss them out.” The backstage footage, apparently shot on a phone, spread quickly on social media and French news channels.,
First lady’s office defends context of remarks
Her office said Macron was trying to calm Abittan rather than attack feminism. In a statement, it said her “only intention was to reassure an artist who, in his dressing room before going on stage, had just told her, ‘I’m scared,’ because his show had been disrupted the previous evening.”
The statement stressed that she was “in no way” targeting a cause, but that she disapproved of “radical methods used to prevent an artist from performing on stage.” The incident was framed as a defense of artistic freedom and a reaction to the disruption, not a rejection of campaigns against sexual and sexist violence.
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Nous Toutes protest and reactions on the left
The protest was organized by feminist campaign group “Nous Toutes” (“All of Us”), which said its activists disrupted Abittan’s show to challenge what it calls “the culture of impunity” around sexual violence in France.
Abittan had been accused of rape in 2021, but magistrates ended the investigation in 2024 for lack of evidence, a decision later confirmed on appeal in January this year, according to French media. In a statement on Instagram, Nous Toutes condemned venues that “roll out a red carpet for men accused of rape” and said such bookings normalize sexist and sexual violence.
Opponents of President Emmanuel Macron on the left criticized the first lady’s language and said it clashed with the government’s stated commitment to combating violence against women. Some argued she should apologize for using a sexist slur about feminist activists.
Former President François Hollande told broadcaster RTL that the remarks showed “a problem of vulgarity,” saying public figures must take care with their words even in private settings.
Far-right defense and debate over private speech
On the far right, National Rally lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy defended Macron, saying the comments were private and the video was “stolen.” He argued that many people would face similar scrutiny if their offstage conversations were secretly filmed. “If each of us were filmed backstage saying things with friends, I think there would be plenty to comment on,” he told BFMTV, calling the reaction “very hypocritical.”
The episode has become another flashpoint in France’s wider debate over sexual violence, protest tactics, and how private remarks by powerful figures should be judged when they become public.
For feminist activists, the video reinforces concerns that women who challenge powerful men are still brushed aside or insulted, even as authorities pledge to support victims. For Macron’s defenders, the controversy raises questions about privacy and whether a brief, tense exchange before a performance should carry the same weight as a prepared public statement.
Sources:
AP News – “Brigitte Macron faces backlash for using slur against feminist protesters”
ABC News / AP – “Brigitte Macron faces backlash for using slur against feminist protesters.”
