Biarritz (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron lamented on Monday the "extraordinarily disrespectful" remarks by his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro against his wife Brigitte, the latest episode of tensions between their two countries around forest fires in the Amazon.
Mr. Bolsonaro made "extraordinarily disrespectful remarks about my wife," he said on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz. "What can I say to you? It's sad, it's sad but it's sad for him and the Brazilians first," he said, adding that he was hoping " very quickly "that the Brazilians" will have a president who behaves at the height ".
"I think Brazilians who are big people are a bit ashamed to see these behaviors," said Mr Macron.
Jair Bolsonaro has endorsed Sunday on Facebook an offensive comment for Brigitte Macron, while one of his ministers treated the head of the French state of "opportunistic cretin".
These unprecedented attacks marked a sharp escalation in the tensions between Brasilia and Paris, brightened in recent days by the pressure exerted by France, which hosted a G7 summit, on Jair Bolsonaro to act against the dramatic fires in the Amazon .
Mr. Bolsonaro reacted to a post in which we made fun of the physique of the French First Lady, who appeared on a disadvantageous photo, comparing it to that of Michelle Bolsonaro, radiant on the day of the investiture of her husband.
"Now you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?", Reads next to photos of the two presidential couples. "It's the jealousy (...) of Macron, I bet," writes the user, Rodrigo Andreaça.
"Do not embarrass the guy - MDR (" death of laughter "), responded in comment the Brazilian president, speaking of his French counterpart.
On the eve of the G7, Emmanuel Macron accused Bolsonaro of having "lied" to his ecological commitments and announced that France was now opposed to the controversial free trade agreement between the EU. and Mercosur, a group of South American countries, including Brazil.
© 2019 AFP