Emmanuel Macron was just 15 when he met Brigitte, his drama teacher. At the time, she was 39, married, and a mother of three children one older than Macron himself. Their relationship shocked a small French town, led to divorce, and years later became one of the most unusual presidential love stories in history.
But here’s the disturbing part: under French law, sexual relations with minors under 15 are automatically illegal (Article 227-25 Code pénal). If an authority figure is involved like a teacher the threshold rises to 18 (Article 227-26 Code pénal). In 2021, France passed a landmark law setting the age of consent at 15, with no exceptions for authority figures (Loi n° 2021-478). The statute of limitations extends up to 30 years after the victim turns 18 for crimes such as rape (Article 7 CPP).
So is this an unconventional love story or a relationship that crossed dangerous legal and ethical lines? Watch until the end and comment your thoughts.
🔔 Subscribe for more deep dives into shocking political and historical scandals.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a thought-provoking, opinionated, and topic-driven journey through the top sports stories of the day.