More than 250,000 people have signed an online petition that Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French President Emmanuel Macron, should not be given the official status of first lady,
France currently doesn’t have an official first lady and during his election campaign, Macron said he would create the position for his wife and pledged it would not be paid for with public funds, but the petition claims it will cost the French taxpayer money.
The online petition was published on the change.org platform and created by Thierry Paul Valette, the founder of the “national equality” movement.
The petition specifies that, if enacted, the special status would allow the first lady benefit from the French budget. Having an office, staff and an allowance from the public purse are examples of some such benefits.
