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Meet French first lady Brigitte Macron: President Emmanuel Macron's former schoolteacher turned wife who may get a formal role in his administrationhttps://www.businessinsider.in/lifestyle/meet-french-first-lady-brigitte-macron-president-emmanuel-macrons-former-schoolteacher-turned-wife-who-may-get-a-formal-role-in-his-administration/slidelist/59974193.cms2017-08-08T20:48:35+05:30

Meet French first lady Brigitte Macron: President Emmanuel Macron's former schoolteacher turned wife who may get a formal role in his administration

Aug 8, 2017, 20:48 IST

"She will have an existence, she will have a voice there, a view on things," Macron said in March. "She will be at my side, as she has always been."

In the coming weeks, Macron is expected to announce what actual functions Brigitte will be taking over.

In August, news broke that Brigitte might get an official role in the French government instead, amid the controversy that it could be too expensive to give her the title of first lady.

Macron wanted to make "first lady" an unpaid formal title, but many in France saw that as copying the American system. Over 220,000 people signed a petition against the proposal.

Brigitte's main areas of focus as first lady were expected to be education and working with disadvantaged and autistic children.

The crowd reportedly shouted "Brigitte! Brigitte! Brigitte!" as she took to the stage with Macron to celebrate his landslide win on May 7 at a victory rally near the Louvre in Paris.

And she celebrated with Macron after early results in the first round of the 2017 French presidential election at the Parc des Expositions hall in Paris.

Brigitte cast her ballot during the second round of 2017 French presidential election in Le Touquet.

Brigitte is understood to be an important mentor to Macron. He said "without her, I wouldn't be me," after winning the first round of voting in April 2017.

The president of France has apparently only ever had one other relationship, with a girlfriend his own age, according to Macron's biographer, Anne Fulda.

The first lady is apparently a regular at Paris Fashion Week, but swapped the front row to support her husband in his presidential campaign.

Brigitte is also known for her strong personal sense of style.

At the top, the couple looked relaxed as they shared a bottle of wine with colleagues.

They also appear to be keen skiers. Here, the couple smiles for the cameras as they take a chairlift up to the mountaintop for a lunch break during a campaign visit to Bagneres-de-Bigorre, in the Pyrenees in Southwestern France.

They live together in Le Touquet, a commune near Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Below, Brigitte speaks with the press outside their home.

But the couple have embraced the limelight.

The age gap between the couple has been a source of fascination for local media.

Macron is stepfather to Brigitte's three children — two girls and a boy. Below, her daughters Thyphaine (left) and Laurence (right) stand at one of Macron's campaign rallies.

She has been by his side ever since.

Brigitte divorced her banker husband and father of her children, André-Louis Auzière, in 2006, and married Macron the following year.

Brigitte was Macron's drama teacher. They met at the Jésuites de la Providence lycée high school, in Amiens, when he was 15.

There is a 24-year age gap between 64-year-old Brigitte and 39-year-old Macron.

She is the youngest of six Trogneux children and her family are famous chocolatiers in the region of Amiens. Les Trogneux is lauded for its macaroons.

Meet Brigitte Macron, high-school teacher who is the wife of French President-elect Emmanuel Macron.

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