Watch: Macron's bizarre Élysée heavy metal gig

It has been a tough few years for Emmanuel Macron. Elected on a tidal wave of optimism in 2017, the famously fickle French public has since soured towards the country’s youngest ever president. The ‘yellow vest’ movement, continued Islamist extremism and now the Covid pandemic have all damaged Macron’s approval ratings, which have hovered around the -20 mark for the past 12 months. The French vaccine roll out has been plagued with difficulties – not helped by Macron’s own jibes at the ‘quasi-ineffective’ Oxford jab – while last month an open letter was signed by a group of 20 retired generals and service personnel warning of ‘civil war’ over concessions to Islamism.

So ahead of the looming presidential context next April and with Marie Le Pen breathing down his neck, how can Macron best help his chances of re-election? The 43-year-old appears to have found a novel answer to an age old problem: inviting two YouTube comedians to the Élysée Palace for a private heavy metal gig.