The Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro and France's Emmanuel Macron has been in dispute over the fires raging in the Amazon, with the right wing leader claiming that Macron had a 'colonial mindset' after his calls for action on the devastating blaze in the 'lungs of the world'.
But over the weekend the attack took a personal tone when Bolsonaro criticised the looks of Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte.
Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro. photo: AFP
Bolsonaro, 67, was responding to a Facebook post comparing the looks of his wife Michelle, 37, with 66-year-old Brigitte Macron when he made the disparaging comment, which was widely criticised for being sexist.
Emmanuel Macron described the comments as “extraordinarily rude”.
“He has made some extraordinarily rude comments about my wife,” Macron told a press conference when asked to react to statements about him by the Brazilian government.
“What can I say? It's sad. It's sad for him firstly, and for Brazilians,” he added.
Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rain forest – the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let's discuss this emergency first order in two days! #ActForTheAmazon pic.twitter.com/dogOJj9big
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 22, 2019
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