FILE - In this May 26, 2019 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and his wife Brigitte Macron shake hands to well-wishers after voting in the European elections in Le Touquet, northern France. In an unusually intimate radio interview, Brigitte Macron said her husband's 2017 election as president "terrorized" her and insisted that she has no political ambitions, and described the complexities of her relationship with a man 24 years her junior. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP, File)
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - France's first lady says Emmanuel Macron's election as president "terrified" her and insists that she has no political ambitions of her own.
Oh, and she hates the word "cougar."
In an unusually intimate interview with France's RTL radio Thursday night, Brigitte Macron described the complexities of her relationship with a man 24 years her junior, saying "we're not an ideal couple."
She acknowledged the French president, her husband, has made mistakes, notably when he insulted unemployed people and failed to discipline a security aide who beat a protester, a misstep that mushroomed into a political scandal.
She also expressed sympathy with yellow vest protesters struggling to make ends meet who are angry at Macron's pro-business policies.
And she insisted: "No, no, no, no. I have neither the taste nor the competence for politics."
FILE - In this April 23, 2019 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte Macron visits Claude Monet's house in Giverny, west of Paris. In an unusually intimate radio interview, Brigitte Macron said her husband's 2017 election as president "terrorized" her and insisted that she has no political ambitions, and described the complexities of her relationship with a man 24 years her junior. (Christian Liewig, Pool via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this May 14, 2019 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron attend a tribute ceremony at the Invalides monument, in Paris. In an unusually intimate radio interview, Brigitte Macron said her husband's 2017 election as president "terrorized" her and insisted that she has no political ambitions, and described the complexities of her relationship with a man 24 years her junior. (Philippe Wojazer/Pool Photo via AP, File)
The Associated Press