President Macron's Curious Kiss With Sports Minister At Olympics 2024 Sparks Controversy: 'Ooh La La'

An intimate kiss was shared by French President Emmanuel Macron, 46, and his sports minister during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics on Friday, which has since become the talk of the town.

Macron's neck was kissed by Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, 46, with one hand wrapped around his neck, as reported by UK's Daily Mail. Her other arm gripped the French president's arm. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal appeared to avert his gaze in the photo.

WATCH - President Macron's Curious Kiss

Take a look at the controversial photo below:

🇫🇷📷 EN IMAGES | Emmanuel Macron et Amélie Oudéa-Castéra après la cérémonie d’ouverture des JO de #Paris2024. pic.twitter.com/MyNR6KOJmW

— Cerfia (@CerfiaFR) July 27, 2024

Photos of the intimate kiss have amassed over 4 million views on the social media platform X.

The kiss raised eyebrows even in France, where kissing is a common form of greeting. Many social media users felt it crossed the boundaries of polite pecks and ventured into "indecent" territory.

"It's my lover that I'm kissing like this. Embarrassing," wrote one person, according to the New York Post.

"I find this photo indecent; it's not worthy of a president and a minister," commented another.

"Amélie Oudéa-Castéra greedily kissing Macron. At least one loves her boss; that's nice to see," one social media user joked.

Some even created memes imagining how Macron's wife, Brigitte Macron, would react to the kiss.

Brigitte Macron quand elle a vu Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, faire la bise à Macron... 😭💀 pic.twitter.com/qh4ER0mlsM

— Nigalee_AS ☄️🪂 /𝕏 (@Nigalee_AS) July 30, 2024

The picture was first highlighted by French magazine Madame Figaro, which called Oudéa-Castéra someone who "certainly knows how to get people talking about her."

The Paris Olympics 2024 was kicked off last week. The opening ceremony on Friday was historic as the first to be held outside a stadium. Olympic teams were seen floating down the Seine during the Parade of Nations. Performances by pop icon Lady Gaga, metal band Gojiu, Céline Dion, and Aya Nakamura were given during the opening ceremony, which was attended by world leaders, international businessmen, celebrities, athletes, and more, as per media reports.