Brigitte Macron, the warrior

“This Brigitte no longer exists,” believes a faithful member of the presidential couple. If she still does not appreciate large crowd movements – mainly out of fear for her husband – recent ordeals have hardened her. » Her skin has thickened, especially after the repeated attacks she has been subjected to on social networks in recent years. Determined, she says she is ready today to deliver blow for blow. “I’m not going to let it happen,” she said recently to one of her friends.

Brigitte Macron is awaiting the appeal judgment between her and two women who spread rumors about her on the Internet in 2021. At first instance, they were sentenced to a suspended fine of 500 euros for defamation, accompanied by 8,000 euros in damages. A second legal procedure is underway for cyberharassment, after the massive distribution of a photo of her in a swimsuit, accompanied by a barrage of hateful comments. “We report any serious act,” his entourage explains to Paris Match.

After the dissolution, many of the comments she allegedly made were reported in the press. “It annoyed her,” says a friend. Because she felt exploited by people solely motivated by a desire for revenge against her husband. » Questioned on January 8 on this subject on the set of TF1 for the promotion of the 36th operation of the Yellow Pieces, she replied in a sharp voice: “Some newspapers attribute sentences to me that I do not say. I never told anyone what I thought about it [NDLR : la dissolution]. »

The rest after this ad

Determined to no longer “let it happen”

“She is right to come out of the woods,” comments Pierre Charon, one of the presidential couple’s evening visitors. Certain limits have been crossed. It's amazing! » Determined to no longer “let it happen”, as she repeats, Brigitte Macron did not hesitate to express her dissatisfaction – to put it mildly – ​​to the editors directly concerned. “They will remember the call they received for a long time,” confides a relative. “I will systematically ask for rights of reply,” she told a former minister, who advised her not to either. “jump on every stone, at the risk of ending up barefoot!” “.

His long walks, at the end of the year, on the beaches of Fort Brégançon – the presidential residence where the couple is accustomed – allowed him to recharge his batteries. “She arrived there exhausted,” remembers a friend. The year 2024 has been very trying for her. » The political violence that followed the dissolution deeply scarred her. “When she uses this term on the set of TF1 about Emmanuel [Macron]she actually talks about herself,” reveals an intimate.

Seeing the yellow vests marching towards the Élysée again, in 2018, she said to one of her friends, in mid-July, only half-joking: “Reserve me a room at your place if things go wrong. » After welcoming their children and grandchildren to celebrate Christmas on the weekend of December 14 at La Lanterne, their refuge near the Palace of Versailles, the couple found themselves face to face on the Var coast.

She will never say it openly, it's not her character, but I have a feeling she's not doing very well

-

Back in Paris for New Year's Eve, they watched television, between two meetings with Emmanuel Macron linked to the security of the festivities. “It remains a simple couple. We perhaps don't imagine them like this, an intimate tells us, but when they have the time – which is extremely rare – they like to organize TV shows, in front of France 5, in particular. » It was France 2 that evening, with a broadcast from the Champs-Élysées hosted by their friend Stéphane Bern.

“Are you happy? » asks Brigitte Macron on the phone, a few days ago, to a former collaborator of the Palace. A question that resonates like an echo of his own doubts. “She will never say it openly, it is not her character, but I feel that she is not doing very well,” perceives an intimate. “She never complains,” confirms those around her.

Still, the pressure is sometimes too great. The day after the dissolution, she collapsed in the arms of a friend. To get up better. “She’s a warrior!” » says one of the couple's followers, admiringly. A month later, it was she who supported Emmanuel Macron on the terrace of the Élysée, after the results of the legislative elections had been announced.

Aware of being the only one who can restore the image of a president still groggy from his defeat, she does not hesitate today, whenever she has the opportunity, to defend him. “He knows why he did it [NDLR : la dissolution]she justified, during her appearance on RTL, at the beginning of January. But he also hears what is said to him. It's not easy to manage. […] He thinks that giving the French a voice is always good. » Even if it means taking the blows, then, in her husband's place. “She suffers for him,” analyzes someone who has known her for years. “She is so successful from the start that she will cover her mistakes, whatever happens,” adds another. Which does not prevent him from worrying about the future of the country, given the blockages in the National Assembly. “The coming months are going to be complicated,” she recently poured out to an intimate friend.

“She can't stay locked up in the Castle. It doesn't exist for her! »

The twilight atmosphere which reigns at the Élysée does not help matters. “We are wary. We are jealous,” reports an executive advisor. “And Brigitte? She’s fed up,” says someone close to the couple. “It’s no longer like before,” one of the Château’s employees reveals to us. This smells like the end. » Some therefore decide to leave, like Fabien, the lieutenant in charge of the first lady's security, who arrived in 2017. And he is not the only one.

On January 15, an evening was organized at the Palace for the departure of seven employees. Brigitte did not come, testifies a guest. Already last December, during a decoration presentation to Clément Leonarduzzi, one of the strategists for Emmanuel Macron's re-election, a regular at the Élysée was surprised not to see her present. If she never misses any official meeting – “She always felt very invested”, according to a member of her close guard – as soon as she can, she escapes. “She can't stay locked up in the Castle. It doesn't exist for her! » explains those around him. When she has an appointment in Paris, she returns on foot – her security service, limited in comparison to that of her husband, easily allowing her to do so. No matter what, she takes her 10,000 steps a day. And take advantage of the weekends to cycle around the Lantern.

“She is very active,” adds a friend. She is focusing on the preparations for the Yellow Pieces gala, recorded at Paris La Défense Arena, this Thursday, January 23, and which will be broadcast the following week. The idea of ​​organizing such an event, bringing together stars like Katy Perry, Gims, Burna Boy, and even John Legend, was born during the health crisis. In full confinement, cellist Gautier Capuçon recorded an album with other classical artists, the profits of which will be donated to the Hospital Foundation in support of caregivers. Touched, Brigitte Macron then exclaimed, enthusiastically: “We need a concert for the Yellow Pieces! » Those around him specify: “The piggy banks continue to work well, but it is an important source of additional income. She put all her energy into making it bigger and bigger. »

“She believes a lot in what she does,” says someone close to the couple. And then it allows him to oxygenate. » Since the beginning of January, she has been traveling the country with Didier Deschamps, sponsor of the operation. Last week, she was in Montpellier to visit a parents' home, opened in September and half financed by the Yellow Pieces. “Didier makes her laugh,” reports a believer. They are very good friends. »

A trip to the United Kingdom to see Charles and Camilla

Soon, it will inaugurate a Live institute in Bordeaux, whose structure, since 2019, has supported hundreds of people aged over 25 in their professional projects. She is also planning the couple's future visits abroad. An official trip to Portugal is reportedly in the works. “They also have to go to the United Kingdom,” an intimate confidant told us, “to see King Charles and Queen Camilla, with whom she became friends through their common interest in literature. » And if her advisors repeat over and over again that Brigitte Macron is “resolutely anchored in the present”, post-2027 is seriously starting to worry her. “I don’t want people to have the image of me as an old lady,” she told a friend. Hence this almost vital need to be active…