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French First Lady Brigitte Macron has half-apologised after she was filmed calling feminist protesters “dirty b****s”, an incident that sparked backlash.
Macron used the slur earlier this month while attending a show in Paris by comedian Ary Abittan, who was previously accused of rape.
In an interview with the media outlet Brut, the 72-year-old said: “I am sorry if I hurt women victims (of sexual assault).”
However, she insisted that the comments were “private” and said she “can’t regret them”.
“True, I’m the president’s wife, but I’m also myself. And so, when I am in private, I can let myself go in a way that is not totally appropriate,” she added.
In now-deleted footage published last week by French magazine Public, Abittan told Macron he was “scared” following protests the previous night.
She responded laughingly: “If there are any stupid b****es, we’ll kick them out.”
Feminist activists from the #NousToutes collective had disrupted Abittan’s performance on 7 December, 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 appeals court upheld that decision in January. Abittan has denied wrongdoing and said the act was consensual.
The video of Macron’s comments sparked considerable backlash and prompted criticism from several French lawmakers, feminist groups and film industry heavyweights.
The hashtags #SalesConnes (#StupidB****es) and #JeSuisUneSaleConne (#IAmAStupidB****) have been trending on social media and were shared by actors including Judith Godrèche and Marion Cotillard.
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 had presented the exchange as a “criticism of the radical method” used by the feminist protesters, but that did little to quell the anger towards the first lady.