Brigitte Macron has responded to Jair Bolsonaro's comments indirectly, implying he's out of step with the times. Photos / AP
Brigitte Macron has responded to Jair Bolsonaro's comments indirectly, implying he's out of step with the times. Photos / AP
Brigitte Macron, France's first lady, hit back on Thursday at mockery of her age and appearance by Jair Bolsonaro, amid a war of words between the Brazilian president and her husband that has left £18 million ($35m) in emergency funding for the Amazon fires in limbo.
Her comments came as Mr Bolsonaro, accused by critics of allowing tens of thousands of fires to rage unchecked in the Amazon rainforest, announced a two-month ban on fires deliberately started by farmers.
Critics have accused the leader of allowing farmers to start fires in order to clear forest for crops or grazing, labelling him "Captain Chainsaw", the Daily Telegraph reports.
Mrs Macron, 65, did not mention Mr Bolsonaro by name but implied that the 64-year-old president was out of tune with contemporary attitudes to women.
She thanked the thousands of Brazilians who had offered apologies on social media for their president's approval of a post deriding her for being nearly 25 years older than Emmanuel Macron, her husband.
The post implied that Michelle Bolsonaro, the 37-year-old wife of Mr Bolsonaro, was better looking than the French first lady.
Mrs Macron said: "Times are changing. There are those who are on the train of change, women are there with you, like you, you've almost all understood, gentlemen. Not everyone, some are still on the platform and I'm sure they will soon get on the train."
Her comments won sustained applause as she inaugurated a newly refurbished museum devoted to the Battle of Agincourt at a ceremony with Edward Llewellyn, the British ambassador, at the site of the 1415 English victory in northern France.
"It's not just for me, it's for all women," Mrs Macron said. "Things are changing and everyone must realise it."
The diplomatic clash between the French and Brazilian presidents came as Mr Macron tried to lead international efforts to help Brazil put out the fires, which he sees as a global problem because the world's largest rainforest produces 20 per cent of its oxygen.
Mr Bolsonaro rejected £18 million in aid from the G7 announced at a summit hosted by Mr Macron in the coastal resort of Biarritz at the weekend.
But he has accepted a separate £10 million offer of assistance from the UK.
The Brazilian president rejected £18 million in aid from the G7. Here are Melania and Donald Trump, Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel. Photo / AP
State governors and agribusiness leaders from the Amazon have implored Mr Bolsonaro to accept financial aid from the G7, fearing that continued tensions could harm Brazil's exports.
Mr Bolsonaro has now outlawed all uses of fire in the region except for farming in indigenous communities, but he stressed that the ban was only temporary.
"The people there set these fires, it's a tradition," he said.
Data from Brazil's Institute of Space Research has shown the increase in fires this year is linked to a rise in deforestation, with illegal land grabbers clearing areas of virgin forest in order to sell to agribusiness firms.
Under domestic and international pressure, the government is expected to launch a series of environment related measures next week including curbs on deforestation and gold panning.
Local media warned of a new Amazon gold rush stemming from relaxed oversight and poverty.
