Photos of French President Emmanuel Macron hitting a boxing bag have caused amusement, bemusement and consternation in the country.
Posted to Instagram by his official photographer Soazig de la Moissonnière, the black and white images show Macron working out in a tight-fitting dark T-shirt and gloves.
One image shows the president gritting his teeth as his right hand connects with the bag, and in the other he wears a look of intense concentration between punches.
Commentators have linked the images to Macron’s increasingly tougher stance against Moscow. In recent weeks, Macron has reiterated the possibility of sending Western troops to Kyiv, warning of European security risks if Russia wins in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, others drew comparisons with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is known for posting photos of himself engaged in sports such as judo and horseback riding.
“Look, he’s doing a lot on rearmament now. He puts out photos like Putin would and other political leaders who basically want to take a bit of a macho approach of politics,” said Yannick Jadot, a senator for the Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV) party, in an interview with TV channel France 2.
Jadot criticized Macron for his lack of action in ending the conflict in Gaza, which he said was “carnage.”
Sandrine Rousseau, a member of parliament for EELV, called out the president for the macho image portrayed in the photos.
“These virilist codes used to the point of overdose. What misery of politics. What a defeat for progressivism. And what poverty of political communication,” wrote Rousseau in a post on X.
Writing in left-wing paper Libération, commentator Jonathan Bouchet-Petersen called the president “Rocky Macron,” and said that the communication he had chosen was “quite appalling.”
“What is certain is that this photo contributes to making Emmanuel Macron’s geopolitical posture childish,” he added.
Speaking to Le Parisien newspaper, Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, expert in political communication and professor at the Sciences-Po university in Paris.
“The message is intended for Vladimir Putin,” he said, explaining that the president wants to show that he is “in the fight.”
CNN’s Pierre Bairin and Emmanuel Nicolas Miculita contributed reporting.