Footage of Emmanuel Macron downing a bottle of beer in 17 seconds in a rugby club dressing room has prompted a political row about binge drinking and accusations of toxic masculinity.
The video shows the French president being handed a bottle of Corona in the Toulouse changing room after they beat La Rochelle at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.
Urged to down the beer in one, Macron drains the bottle to cheers from coaching staff and players, then proudly slams the empty bottle down on the counter.
“Toxic masculinity in political leadership in one image,” tweeted Sandrine Rousseau, an MP for the Green party.
La masculinité toxique dans le leadership politique en une image. https://t.co/jI6gNWksO5
— Sandrine Rousseau (@sandrousseau) June 18, 2023
“A president who is sharing in the joy of 23 players and taking part in their traditions. That’s all,” replied Jean-René Cazeneuve, an MP from Macron’s centrist party.
Un président qui partage la joie de 23 joueurs et se soumet à leur rite. Tout simplement. #STSR #Rugby https://t.co/gPebtcEr5j
— Jean-René Cazeneuve (@jrcazeneuve) June 18, 2023
The choice of Corona beer – favourite drink of the late rightwing president Jacques Chirac – led to comments about whether Macron was using it to make overtures to the right, or whether, after accusations that he is out of touch, he was trying to show he was a man of the people.
When Macron was filmed having a beer in Kinshasa in March, during the French pensions crisis, he was accused of being cut off from ordinary concerns back home.
Most of the commentary, however, centred on Macron’s stance on alcohol. He is a strong supporter of France’s wine industry, once claiming he regularly drank a glass of wine at lunch and another in the evening. He has been seen to have defended the wine and alcohol lobby by blocking attempts by public health authorities to promote “Dry January”.
The daily newspaper Libération recalled that in 2018 Macron had told local newspapers in an interview that rather than wine being a problem, it was the binge-drinking of beer and spirits that was dangerous for young people. He said there was a public health problem “when young people get drunk at high-speed with strong alcohol or beer”. Libération said Macron was now showing off his own “high-speed” drinking.
Bernard Basset, from the charity Association Addictions France, told BFMTV: “The president has a responsibility as a role model in terms of setting a healthy example for behaviour … In this case, he’s associating sport, parties and the consumption of alcohol in a context of virile peer pressure where everyone drinks a bit too much.”
William Lowenstein, a doctor and addiction specialist, told the BFMTV: “It’s inappropriate … You could do it, but not in front of the cameras.”
