A new biography of France's first couple alleges that Brigitte Macron removed a young female intern who attempted to use seduction to advance her career at the Élysée Palace. The claim is among several revelations in Florian Tardif's book Un Couple (Presque) Parfait — An (Almost) Perfect Couple, which quickly topped the French bestseller list after its release.
The Intern Incident
According to Tardif, a close ally of the first lady revealed that Brigitte accelerated the departure of a female intern in her twenties, referred to in the biography as 'Scheherazade'. An official stated that the woman tried 'to use seduction to get what she wanted': a job at the presidential palace. The book also claims that Brigitte later removed another female adviser from her husband's circle.
During a radio interview promoting the book, Tardif told Les Grandes Gueules: 'There are advisors applying for positions at the Élysée. And in the HR process, the final interview is with the first lady. She's wary.' He even accused her of dismissing a candidate after glimpsing a message on one of Macron's advisers' phones, declaring: 'Her, she's not getting in.'
The Airport Slap
Tardif also claims to know the true reason behind the viral incident at Hanoi airport in May last year, where Brigitte was seen slapping the French president. The altercation, he said, was sparked when she saw a message on his phone from Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, whom Macron had allegedly praised as 'jolie' (pretty) and 'magnifique' (magnificent) in texts.
At the time, Macron insisted the incident was 'nothing', saying they were just 'bickering, or rather joking'. Tardif called it a classic 'couple's scene', adding that the Élysée regretted not being honest about the dispute, 'simply because they could have shown at that moment that they were a couple, a real couple, not a perfect couple'.
Denials and Context
Brigitte Macron's representatives denied the claims to Le Parisien, stating that she would never check her husband's phone. The president's entourage said: 'Brigitte Macron categorically denied this account directly to the author on March 5, specifying that she never looks at her husband's mobile phone.' They noted that this detail had not been published by the author.
Farahani, 42, has previously dismissed rumours about her and Macron. She told Gala magazine last year: 'It comes in waves, it appears, disappears... I watch, I observe: what can I do? It doesn't even bother me. What's the point?' She added: 'The question is why people are interested in this kind of story. I think there's a lack of love in some people, and they need to create such romances to fill that void.'
Born in Tehran, Farahani became the first Iran-based actor to appear in a Hollywood film since the 1979 revolution, starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Ridley Scott's Body of Lies in 2008. She was subsequently banned from working in Tehran for not wearing a headscarf at the film's New York premiere. In 2011, she was condemned by the regime after baring her breast in a promotional video for the Césars, the 'French Oscars'. Following anti-regime protests in Tehran in January, she expressed solidarity with her home country on Instagram.
