Tres vaniteux! ‘Hyper-vain’
Emmanuel Macron has spent £8,000-a-month on makeup since becoming President of France
Emmanuel Macron has spent £8,000 a month of taxpayers' money on make- up since becoming President of France, it emerged today. The 39-year-old, who was a prize-winning actor as a student, has signed off all the bills, saying an attractive public image is essential.
But critics said it all pointed to a vain head of state who was spending excessively 'to hide his real face'.
Mr Macron, the youngest president of France since Napoleon, is using a make-up artist known only as 'Natacha M'.
She gets to work before every public appearance, whether in a TV studio or at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Le Point news magazine reported that she had already put in two separate bills, one for the equivalent of £9,000, the other for £15,000.
A spokesman for the president said: 'We called in a contractor in as a matter of urgency', adding that Natacha M had also assisted Mr Macron during his presidential campaign.
Mr Macron has always used his boy- ish image to his advantage, despite his wife Brigitte Macron being 25 years older than him.
Mrs Macron was his drama teacher at school, before the two embarked on a passionate affair while she was married to someone else.
The pair now like to be pictured out cycling, or acting like a pair of youngsters who are happiest at their beachside home in Le Touquet, northern France, or in a holiday villa in Marseille.
Mr Macron's party is called En Marche! ( On the Move!), but is more commonly known as EM! as these are the same initials as Mr Macron's.
A member of the opposition conservative Republicans party said it all added up to a 'hyper-vain president'.
The source said: 'He thinks nothing of spending thousands on himself, at a time when he is just about to start cutting jobs. It seems that he just wants to hide his real face. It would be interesting to see what the first lady Brigitte is spending on make-up too!'
Mr Macron's aides meanwhile insisted that the make- up bill would now be reduced, and pointed to the fact that his predecessors also spent a great deal on their personal image.
Former conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy spent more than £7,000 a month on make-up, while the almost bald Socialist Francois Hollande gave £ 9,000 a month to his barber.