Despite the fact that France’s First Lady has been in the spotlight since her husband was sworn in last year, she has remained an enigmatic figure for many.
The first and much-anticipated (unauthorized) biography, entitled “Brigitte Macron: L’Affranchie (The Unfettered Woman)” and written by Maëlle Brun, has finally been released. The tell-all book reveals some explosive details about the hostility and condemnation Brigitte encountered after she chose to enter a relationship with Emmanuel, who was her teenage student at La Providence Lycée Catholic School back in the day.
According to the biography, 39-year-old Brigitte was from a wealthy family, was married to a banker and had three children before she fell in love with 15-year-old Emmanuel. Despite the fact that 15 is the age of consent in France, their affair was still denounced. The whole neighborhood treated her parents “like they had the plague,” spat on their doorstep and sent letters condemning their daughter’s behavior.
Brun claims that a friend of Brigitte has explained that “she lost all her friends” because of her romance with an adolescent.
“Friends with whom she went on vacation changed overnight and no longer wanted to speak to her,” the acquaintance said.
It's no wonder the highly scandalized affair was ruinous for Brigitte’s first marriage; despite the fact that she did not get a divorce until 2006, leading to Emmanuel’s removal from the school.
Besides revealing the details of her love life, the book tells a heart-wrenching story of her tragic loss – her older sister died in a car accident with her husband and a six-year-old daughter in 1961, which had a huge impact on Brigitte. Brun claimed that as a result, she had to “build” a protective shell around herself.
Furthermore, the author has spent much time interviewing Brigitte’s former students from when she was a drama teacher, with many describing her as an extremely passionate teacher.
“I remember one time we were studying the concept of passion. So she cheerfully bursts out that treating yourself to pleasure once in a while does some good! She had a gift for loosening us up,” an ex-student recalled.
The book also alleges that teen Emmanuel Macron wrote an erotic novel – a rumor that was substantiated by Brigitte’s then-neighbor, who worked as a typist.
"I knew him from the neighborhood and one day he asked me to type the three hundred pages of a book he had just written. It was a daring novel, a little racy! The names were of course not the same but I think he had to express what he felt at the time," Closer magazine cited the woman as saying.
