French President Emmanuel Macron controls the ball as he participates in the Varietes Club charity football match to benefit children in hospital, at the Bernard Giroux stadium in Plaisir, outside Paris, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron,left, participates in the Varietes Club charity football match to benefit children in hospital, at the Bernard Giroux stadium in Plaisir, outside Paris, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
Since being elected in 2017, the 46-year-old has seized multiple opportunities to demonstrate his athletic skills — and physique — in what observers view as a photo-friendly way to brandish a dynamic image as modern France’s youngest-ever president.went viral on social media in what was widely perceived as the latest round in his drive to toughen up Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.