The scene filmed on Sunday showed France’s first lady in discussion backstage at the Folies Bergère theatre in central Paris with actor Ary Abittan before a performance he was about to give.

The previous night, feminist campaigners had disrupted his show, wearing masks of the actor bearing the word “rapist” and shouting, “Abittan, rapist!”

A woman in 2021 accused the actor of rape, but in 2023, investigators dropped the case, citing a lack of evidence.

Before Sunday’s performance, Macron is seen in the video, published by local media Public on Monday, asking him how he was feeling. When he said he was feeling scared, Macron was heard jokingly responding, using a vulgar expression in French, “If there are any stupid removed, we’ll kick them out”.