Photographers captured what social media users are calling an awkwardly intimate kiss between French President Emmanuel Macron and his sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra during the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
In the pictures, Oudéa-Castéra, a former professional tennis player, can be seen clutching Macron’s bicep with one hand and holding the back of his head in another as she kisses Macron’s neck.
Macron can also be seen gripping his minister’s arm tightly, as French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal appears to be averting his eyes elsewhere.
The picture was first brought to light by French magazine Madame Figaro, who called the kiss “strange” and claimed Oudéa-Castéra liked drawing attention.
“Amélie Oudéa-Castéra continues to make people talk about her”, the publication wrote. “On July 13, she was still the subject of ridicule after having plunged into the Seine, at the foot of the National Assembly. […] After having skidded on the cobblestones and thus slipped into the water of the river, she did the plank in front of TV cameras near the edge [..].”
The picture sparked different reactions, with many sharing their thoughts on social media platform X.
“Gabriel Attal, he pretends to look elsewhere! He doesn’t know where to stand!” one user wrote, while another said: “It’s my lover that I’m kissing like this. Embarrassing.”
“I find this photo indecent, it’s not worthy of a president and a minister,” a disapproving poster added.
However, not every commenter was shocked by the celebratory hug.
One user defended the action as “a slightly warm congratulation to celebrate the moment”.
Oudéa-Castéra was previously France’s education minister, and was first appointed in January this year.
However, she was quickly removed from the role after less than a month following revelations that her children were enrolled at posh private schools, and that she had made disparaging remarks about public schools.
She has held the title of Minister of Sports and Olympic and Paralympic Games in the government of successive Prime Ministers Élisabeth Borne and Gabriel Attal since May 2022.