JANET STREET-PORTER: As unpleasant rumours swirl about his marriage, Macron responds in the only way he knows how - by staging a macho photoshoot. But just like those of the Russian leader, these cringey shoots are d**k on the table diplomacy at its worst

President Macron has been subjected to some unpleasant rumours recently. 

Gossips have cruelly (and incorrectly) suggested that his wife Brigitte was born a man and that their marriage is a bit 'odd'.

Any normal person would have ignored such piffle, but Macron is no ordinary man.

He wants the world to know that he is nothing less than a God walking French soil. 

A superb athlete and all round genius. 

The youngest French President ever, someone French citizens are lucky to have in charge of their country, particularly as they prepare to host the summer Olympics.

It's a shame a lot of his subjects don't seem to agree.

Soazing de la Moissonnière photographed the French President pounding a punchbag

Macron is shown with gritted teeth, bulging biceps and furrowed brow, beating a punch bag 

Macron has an unusual marriage to a woman old enough to be his granny - 24 years his senior - who is widely thought to have seduced him while he was still a school student and she was his teacher. 

After fifteen years of matrimony, their relationship still causes plenty of comment. It is unusual by any standards.

The President would like us to forget about trivial issues like his domestic arrangements and focus on his superhuman attributes instead.

But how to get this message across without speaking to common mortals? In a bold move, Macron has reinvented himself as Robert de Niro in Raging Bull, macho man personified, hoping this will stun the snipers into silence.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron in Paris this week

In 2009, Russia's Vladimir Putin was photographed riding a horse bareback in Siberia

Does he really expect the public to fall for this tripe? And will other world leaders be seduced into thinking Macron is the man of the moment, the right person to challenge Putin and kick those pesky Russians into touch?

Action man photos are the stock in trade of politicians everywhere seeking public approval. 

Modern leaders from Putin to Boris, Zelensky and Trump -  not to mention the Pope - have armies of PR operatives issuing a steady diet of carefully staged images to hammer home to ordinary folk that they are not just capable, but blessed with special skills.

It means kissing a lot of babies, posing in fighter jet cockpits, sitting in dinky chairs and studying spelling with toddlers and driving giant trucks and tanks in a hard hat.

President Emmanuel Macron, pictured by his official photographer Soazig de La Moissonniere 

French President Emmanuel Macron is pictured smiling at his desk in another official photo 

All of the above is a bit too predictable for Monsieur Le President, who might be limited in stature at 5 foot 7 inches, but who obviously sees himself as a leading man in the movie of his life.

Being short (by catwalk standards) has never hampered Kate Moss, built a brilliant career by showcasing her other assets. Kate has always understood exactly how to perform in front of a camera, a talent she has used to earn millions.

Sadly, most male politicians seem to lack those skills. Rishi Sunak (5 foot 6 inches) wears clothes which emphasis his statue, although those short trousers and bum-freezer jackets remind me of a school boy and not a heavy weight.

Macron is equally vain. 

Macron turns to his official photographer to showcase his power, grit and determination 

Whenever there is any suggestion that he is a bit of a wimp, that his wife is pulling his strings or that he's just a vain, snooty intellectual out of touch with ordinary folks' problems - the French President turns to his official photographer to showcase his power, grit and determination.

The results are always a source of much hilarity (the latest official photos show Macron with gritted teeth, bulging biceps and furrowed brow, beating the hell out of a punch bag)  and the message is simple: Watch out Putin, you are dealing with a heavy weight bull of a bloke, an unstoppable force.

Channelling Robert de Niro in Raging Bull, or Sly Stallone's Rocky Balboa at his peak- Macron looks determined to beat any opposition to a pulp.

If only life were that simple, that we could scare away our enemies with a lethal punch and emerge victorious- all with a perfectly framed shot.

An image of Macron wearing a hoody emerged in the days after the war in Ukraine began, leading many to suggest the French President was modelling his looks on Volodymyr Zelensky

Macron is relatively new to this game. His nemesis, the undisputed master of macho man propaganda, President Putin (also 5 ft 7ins), has just been re-elected in Russia in questionable circumstances. Following the (inevitable) result, Macron must have had a sleepless night in the Elysee Palace. 

How to get back on the front pages, trending on social media, diverting attention away from the most powerful man in the West, strutting around a golden room in the Kremlin surrounded by acolytes?

Since the invasion of Ukraine, Macron has been campaigning for Europe and the UK to do more to help President Zelensky, positioning himself as the brave fearless leader taking on the Russian threat.

He's spent more time on a jet trying to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine than our own globe-trotting Dave Cameron- another man who loves a photo-opportunity as proof he's value for money.

Pictures of President Emmanuel Macron by his official photographer Soazig de la Moissonnie

Putin is a short man with a massive ego, rumoured to have resorted to cosmetic surgery to freshen up his eyelids, even said to use body doubles. 

He has a long history of posing for shamelessly macho portraits to portray himself as an iron leader. In 2009, he was photographed riding a horse bareback in Siberia, and since then been filmed playing ice hockey, shooting and fishing. 

All carefully crafted to burnish his credentials as an all-round hard man, who will defend Russia against the rest of the world.

President Zelensky is no different. He always wears the same uniform- fatigues and combat gear- cleverly diverting attention from the fact he's relatively short and before his election, was best known as a comedian.

And Rishi Sunak is just as vain as Macron- with his own personal photographer feeding us daily imagery of a busy hard working leader meeting students, factory workers, and shop assistants every single day. Always in those immaculate but slightly too shrunken trousers, sporting a designer hoodie at weekends. He looks as if he's box-fresh, straight from the dry cleaners. Untouched by sweat, dust or normal life.

French President Emmanuel Macron pets a dog as he sits at his desk in the Elysee Palace

I wonder how long it takes to set up these silly pictures- time which could be better spent making some important political decisions rather than boarding another helicopter to a factory or construction site in the North?

We might carp about the Princess of Wales daring to tidy up a family snap for Mother's Day,  but you can bet any image of President Macron or Rishi Sunak has been manipulated to emphasise their good points and airbrush away any blemishes.

Appointing an official photographer is nothing new. Since President Kennedy, leaders have used 'casual' shots to try and show us they are just like us.

It's become a laughable obsession. By channelling Rocky, Macron has raised the stakes. But he seems to have forgotten that every prize fight has to have a winner and a loser.

This is d**k on table diplomacy at its worst.