The French First Lady drew criticism after a video showed her calling feminist activists "dirty b****es" at a theatre hosting a rape-accused comedian's show.
French First Lady Brigitte Macron drew criticism after she was filmed calling feminist protesters "dirty b****s" before attending a performance by comedian Ary Abittan, who was previously accused of rape.
Macron made the remarks on Sunday backstage at the Folies Bergère theatre in Paris, where she had gone with her daughter Tiphaine Auzière to watch Abittan's show.
In video footage published on Monday by French magazine Public, Abittan told Macron he was "scared" following protests the previous night. She responded laughingly: "If there are any dirty b****es, we'll kick them out."
On Saturday, feminist activists from the #NousToutes collective had disrupted Abittan's performance, wearing masks bearing his face with the word "rapist" and chanting "Abittan rapist."
Abittan was accused of rape in late 2021 by a woman he had been dating. After a three-year investigation, prosecutors dismissed the case, and an appeal court upheld that decision in January. His return to performing has been contested by feminist groups.
The video of Macron's comments prompted widespread backlash.
French actress Judith Godrèche wrote on Instagram: "I'm a dirty b**** too. And I support everyone else."
Manon Aubry, a MEP from the radical left-wing party La France Insoumise, wrote on social media: "We started with women's rights as the 'great cause of the five-year term', this ends by insulting them."
Marine Tondelier, leader of the Greens party, called the remarks "gravely offensive" in an interview with BFM-TV. "A First Lady shouldn't say that," she added.
Macron's office said the exchange "should only be seen as a criticism of the radical method" used by the feminist protesters.