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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaEmmanuel Macron flexes political muscle with boxing photosPublished51 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Soazig de La Moissonniere/ the President Image caption, Social media users have questioned if the French president used PhotoshopBy Andre Rhoden-PaulBBC NewsFirst he flexed his muscles on Ukraine. Now Emmanuel Macron has gone one further, releasing photos of him hitting a punchbag with bulging biceps in a show of his strength in action.The French president’s photographer posted two images on Instagram, days after he began to take a far more hawkish public line against Russia.It was not long before “Rocky” began to trend on social media.Perhaps inevitably, others questioned whether the photos had been “enhanced”. Doubters pointed to the size of his biceps, and re-posted the boxing picture alongside an image of Mr Macron, 46, with a skinnier arm. Others joked and tweeted the pictures, taken by Soazing de la Moissonnière, saying that they showed Mr Macron, a keen boxer, getting ready to take on Russia and its 71-year-old president, Vladimir Putin. They were published less than a week after the French president suggested sending Western troops to Ukraine could not be ruled out. Speaking on French TV last Thursday, he warned that Russia was seeking to extend its power and would not stop now.”If we leave Ukraine alone, if we let Ukraine lose this war, then for sure Russia will threaten Moldova, Romania and Poland,” he said.Why Macron went from dove to hawk on RussiaThe imagery will not be lost on his adversary in the Kremlin, who has been repeatedly photographed bare-chested to show his own personal fitness.Gaspard Gantzer, a well-known public relations expert, told newspaper Nice-Matin that the president wanted the images to show “he is a Frenchman like any other … that he is in great physical shape … that he wants to fight.”Image source, Soazig de La Moissonniere/ the President Image caption, Social media users have questioned if the French president used PhotoshopBroadcaster CNews said of the pictures: “In the two photos, we see the head of state ready to fight, his gaze fixed on the punching bag.”As if he was determined to beat his opponents. The drawn features, the bulging muscles, the clenched teeth, the president looks like a true warrior.”French weekly women’s magazine Femme Actuelle painted a more flattering view, saying the photos “hit hard” and also pointed to bulging biceps.However, the photos did not go down well with all in France. Sandrine Rousseau, an opposition Greens MP, reposted the photo on Twitter with the comment: “What misery of politics!””The pose seems advantageous,” the French daily newspaper Le Figaro said, but added that the photos had “aroused much mockery”.Mr Macron is among a long list of politicians who have been keen to show off their sporting prowess. President Putin famously paraded bare-chested on a horse and is no stranger to an ice hockey match or releasing a judo DVD. Mr Macron previously made headlines with a very relaxed photo of him in an unbuttoned shirt and chest hair on full display. His wife, Brigitte Macron, said in November that the president did boxing training twice a week.Related TopicsFranceRussiaEmmanuel MacronVladimir PutinMore on this storyWhy Macron went from dove to hawk on RussiaPublished4 days agoWhy Macron hopes abortion rights are a political winnerPublished3 MarchNato allies reject Macron idea of troops to UkrainePublished27 FebruaryTop StoriesThis will be year economy bounces back, Sunak says, after inflation fallsPublished4 hours agoFresh string of defeats in the Lords over government’s Rwanda billPublished1 hour agoUK rent prices up 9% in record yearly rise, says ONSPublished32 minutes agoFeaturesFamine looms in Sudan as civil war survivors tell of killings and rapesThe GP who became Ireland’s youngest taoiseachEmma Barnett: ‘Why I wanted a baby loss certificate’Bafta TV Awards: The list of nominationsWatch: An emotional farewell to the Hairy Bikers. 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[ad_1] French president is snapped working the punch bag, days after getting tough on Russia,
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaUkraine Russia war: US warns Avdiivka could fallPublished3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsWar in UkraineThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, “I will die here”: Evacuation “angels” help front-line town’s last residents fleeBy Jaroslav LukivBBC NewsThe US has warned that Russia could seize Ukraine’s key eastern town of Avdiivka – the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in recent months. “Avdiivka is at risk of falling into Russian control,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, citing Ukraine’s ammunition shortages. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to do everything to “save as many Ukrainian lives as possible”.Russian troops have made gains in Avdiivka, threatening to encircle it.The town – which has been almost completely destroyed – is seen as a gateway to nearby Donetsk, the regional Ukrainian capital seized by Russian-backed fighters in 2014 and later illegitimately annexed by Moscow.Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.Ukraine battles frostbite and shell shortage in ruined town Nothing but rubble: Ukraine’s shattered ghost town AvdiivkaAt Thursday’s briefing in Washington, Mr Kirby said Avdiivka could fall largely “because the Ukrainian forces on the ground are running out of artillery ammunition”.”Russia is sending wave after wave of conscript forces to attack Ukrainian positions,” he said. “And because Congress has yet to pass the supplemental bill, we have not been able to provide Ukraine with the artillery shells that they desperately need to disrupt these Russian assaults.”Russian forces are now reaching Ukrainian trenches in Avdiivka, and they’re beginning to overwhelm Ukrainian defences.”Earlier this week, the US Senate approved a $95bn (£75bn) foreign aid package – including $60bn for Ukraine – after months of political wrangling, but it faces an uphill battle in the House of Representatives.Ukraine is critically dependent on weapons supplies from the US and other Western allies to be able to continue fighting Russia – a much bigger military force with an abundance of artillery ammunition.Nato Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg warned on Thursday that the US failure to approve continued military assistance to Ukraine was already having an impact on the battlefield.Image source, ReutersImage caption, Smoke rises over an industrial site in Avdiivka on ThursdayIn his video address late on Thursday, President Zelensky said: “We are doing everything we can to ensure that our warriors have enough managerial and technological capabilities to save as many Ukrainian lives as possible.”On Friday, Mr Zelensky is visiting Berlin and Paris where is expected to sign security pacts with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron.A similar agreement on security co-operation was signed between Ukraine and the UK in January.Late on Thursday, Ukrainian General Oleksandr Tarnavsky admitted that “fierce battles” were taking place “within” Avdiivka.”We value every piece of Ukrainian land, but the highest value and priority for us is the preservation of the life of a Ukrainian soldier,” he said.Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy acknowledged that Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka were being forced to “sometimes move to more advantageous positions… in some places leaving positions”.Some Ukrainian soldiers have privately admitted the town could fall at any moment.”We’re upset,” Ukrainian officer Oleksii, from Ukraine’s 110th Mechanised Brigade in the Avdiivka area, told the BBC earlier this week, standing beside a huge mobile artillery piece as Russian guns boomed in the distance.”Currently we have two shells, but we have no [explosive] charges for them… so we can’t fire them. As of now, we have run out of shells,” said Oleksii. He suggested that the shortages were widespread and having a dramatic impact on the fighting in Avdiivka.”We feel a very strong responsibility for our guys fighting right now in the town, armed only with assault rifles.”Ukraine’s newly appointed commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited the frontline in the Avdiivka area this week, acknowledging that the situation there was “difficult”.He said the Russian military did not “count losses”, using its troops as cannon fodder.Kyiv says an elite Ukrainian brigade has now been sent to Avdiivka and reserve artillery has been deployed.In unverified reports, Russian military bloggers said on Thursday that a key Ukrainian defence position in southern Avdiivka – known as Zenit – was now under Moscow’s control.Related TopicsWar in UkraineRussiaUkraineMore on this storyUkraine battles frostbite and shell shortage in ruined townPublished15 hours agoNothing but rubble: Ukraine’s shattered ghost town AvdiivkaPublished30 JanuaryFull cemeteries and empty homes: Ukrainians struggle to endurePublished1 day agoThe Ukrainians ‘disappearing’ in Russia’s prisonsPublished6 days agoTop StoriesLive. 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