Charter defines role of Macron’s wife – still not first lady
PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron’s office published a charter Monday detailing the role his wife will play during his term, a first for France but a step down from his initial plan to give her a budget and legal status as first lady.
The Charter of Transparency says there will be no formal budget for the endeavours of Brigitte Macron and she will not be paid. Macron dropped the idea of creating a special budget for his wife after a recent petition opposing it quickly secured more than 280,000 signatures.
France does not have a formal title or role for the spouses of its presidents, and the centrist Macron wanted to change that and do away with what he once called “French hypocrisy” about the non-status of presidential spouses.
The person living with the president “must be able to play a role and be recognized for that role,” he said before his election in May.