Macron calls Bolsonaro 'extraordinarily rude' after insults about wife

In fresh row after fire spat, Brazilian president condemned for joining social media post mocking French leader’s wife Brigitte

BIARRITZ, France –French President Emmanuel Macron condemned on Monday “extraordinarily rude” comments made about his wife Brigitte by his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro.

“He has made some extraordinarily rude comments about my wife,” Macron said at a press conference when asked to react to statements about him by the Brazilian government.

“What can I say? It’s sad. It’s sad for him firstly, and for Brazilians,” he added.

On Sunday, a Bolsonaro supporter posted a message on Facebook mocking the appearance of Brigitte Macron and comparing her unfavorably with Brazil’s first lady Michelle Bolsonaro.

Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, welcomes leaders’ spouses in Espelette, near Biarritz, southwestern France, August 25, 2019. (Regis Duvignau/Pool via AP)

“Now you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?” he wrote next to an unflattering picture of Brigitte Macron, 65, who is 28 years older than Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle.

Bolsonaro replied on Facebook: “Do not humiliate the guy, ha ha.”

Yesterday a @jairbolsonaro supporter posted a meme mocking the appearance of Brigitte Macron and comparing her unfavourably with #Brazil first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, with the tagline: "Now you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?" pic.twitter.com/px3tvoZ2SL

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 26, 2019

“I think Brazilian women will probably be ashamed to read that from their president,” Macron said. “I think that Brazilians, who are a great people, will probably be ashamed to see this behavior.”

“And as I feel friendship and respect towards the Brazilian people, I hope that they will very soon have a president who behaves in the right way.”

Brazil’s first lady Michelle Bolsonaro uses sign language to speak to the public, as her husband, President Jair Bolsonaro, stands behind her during his inaugural ceremony at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, January 1, 2019. (Silvia Izquierdo/AP)

Macron has recently criticized Bolsonaro over his response to tackling huge blazes engulfing the world’s biggest rain forest in the Amazon region of Brazil.

Macron made the issue a priority at the ongoing G7 industrial summit’s priorities, and threatened to block a huge new trade deal between the EU and Latin America unless Bolsonaro, a climate change skeptic, takes serious steps to protect the Amazon.