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On May 25, a summit was held in Brussels where the leaders of NATO countries met. The event was also attended by first ladies - wives of presidents and prime ministers. This time among them was the first gentleman, Gautier Destenay, the husband of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel. Reddit was taken aback, but not in the way you thought. Why is it that among all the spouses, only Destene looks really happy?!

Traditionally, while leaders of countries hold meetings at summits, their spouses enjoy the cultural program provided for them. Most often, leaders are accompanied by first ladies, but sometimes men are also in their company - such as the husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Joachim Sauer.

But something unusual happened at the Brussels summit. The only man among the ladies, Gautier Destenay, is married to the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel. Since the world is not yet quite accustomed to open same-sex relationships, it is not surprising that the photo has attracted attention on social networks.

However, the attention was positive: not a single negative comment about Destene’s sexual orientation was noticed on Reddit. Many users, on the contrary, noted that he seemed to be the only one who was glad to be at the event.

"He looks like he's the only one happy there."

“God, he looks better than all these women.”

"Only this guy and the woman in pink seem nice people, while everyone else is a Disney villain."

Someone remembered the joke of Bill Clinton, who, if his wife Hillary Clinton won the US presidential election, wanted to be called the first guy (from the word laddie, which is similar to “lady”).

"They should have called him 'first guy' instead of 'first gentleman.'

Some commentators were pleased that the world was beginning to accept people regardless of their sexual orientation.

“I can’t wait until the whole world embraces the concept that you can love whoever the hell you want and still be accepted for who you are.”

“Well, damn it, this is Europe, baby!”

Much more than Destenay, Reddit users were interested in the question: why were the husbands of Angela Merkel and Theresa May not present at the event? The reason for Joachim Sauer's absence quickly became clear: he teaches chemistry at a Berlin university and very rarely accompanies his wife at official events.

Xavier Bettel became the third leader of the country to officially register a same-sex marriage with his partner. Two years ago, this event was celebrated as a national holiday. : on social networks there were not only rainbows, but also curses.

There were no breakthroughs at the summit, but a couple of funny episodes occurred

Photo: REUTERS

On May 25, a NATO summit was held in Brussels. One of the important protocol moments of such an event is the official photography of distinguished guests. And here, in addition to the incident with US President Donald Trump (who unceremoniously pushed aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro in order to get into the front row), the public’s attention was also attracted by the traditional “ woman photo", where the spouses of North Atlantic politicians collectively pose. But in this photograph, taken in the palace of the Belgian king, among the women there was suddenly... a man. Who is in the second row right behind Bridget Macron, Emine Erdogan and Melania Trump? It turns out that this is Gautier Destne - the legal husband of Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. (In this duchy, non-traditional unions are allowed, which allowed the leader of the “biggest small state” to legally have a partner of his own sex).

True, from the point of view of liberal standards, the question remains open: does the appearance of a man in a hitherto female society violate gender equality? Otherwise, in the last elections in the United States and France, female candidates lost to male opponents; The Secretary General of NATO is a man, the King of Belgium is a man, and then a “person of male nationality” has been inserted into a woman’s photograph.

Speaking seriously, the key NATO player with the second largest army among the Alliance countries is Türkiye. And Emine Erdogan, the wife of the President of the Republic, is in the photo standing in a hijab right in front of the wife (husband?) of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg. Moreover, the arrangement in protocol photographs with persons of this level is agreed upon in advance, so this particular proximity is not an accident, although nothing prevented the organizers from placing such different understanding“liberal values” (and NATO, let us remember, positions itself as a “union of countries of the free world”) away from each other.

After all, if you are for feminism and gay marriage, then how does the hijab fit with them? Doesn't such a neighborhood offend the rights of feminists and gays? And most importantly, there are many religious fanatics in Turkey who consider Erdogan “too moderate.” And then suddenly, right behind his wife, stands the one whom in the next Saudi Arabia According to local traditions, they would have been stoned, or maybe something worse. So, no matter how Recep Teyip did not have to listen to harsh criticism at home after such gestures from his dear Brussels colleagues. Unfortunately, they do not have equal partners - only subordinates.

P.S. Who is on the photo? From left to right: First Lady of France Brigitte Tronier, wife of Turkish President Emine Erdogan, gay husband of Prime Minister of Luxembourg Gautier Destne, First Lady of the United States Melania Trump, common-law wife of the Prime Minister of Slovenia Milena* Stopnik, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, wife of the Prime Minister of Iceland Thor Margarita Baldfinsdottir, wife of the Secretary General NATO Ingrid Schulerud-Stoltenberg, First Lady of Bulgaria Desislava Radeva, common-law wife of Belgian Prime Minister Amelie Derboudrenghi.

While their other halves decide the fate of the world at the G7 summit, we have a rare opportunity to get to know those who usually remain in the shadows - the wives of key political players.

It seems Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have set a new trend. It is difficult to remember the last time the wives of European prime ministers and presidents aroused such keen interest among the public. For example, did you know before that the President of Bulgaria is not officially married to his lady, although she has the same last name? That the prime ministers of Belgium and Slovenia also prefer not to formalize relationships with their women, but in the wake of the trend set, it seems, by Hollande, they take their companions on all business trips.

So, last Thursday, the heads of seven states gathered in Brussels for the G7 summit, and their wives and companions at that time... no, they didn’t go shopping, but were forced to follow the Queen of Belgium to the Margritte Museum (in this place they could would be the envy of any connoisseur of surrealism in art), and then to a social reception at the Royal Palace (and here fans of stories about princes say “ah”). They also organized some kind of shopping for them, but more on that later.

So, let's get acquainted:

The Belgian Queen Mathilde was responsible for the leisure of the first ladies. And like a true woman, she couldn’t help but take the others to the flagship boutique of the old Belgian luxury brand Delvaux, famous for its bags.

By the way, if you think that Melania Trump has captured all the public’s attention, you are mistaken. The heroine of the day was the newly minted First Lady of France. 65-year-old Brigitte Macron wore a little black dress from her beloved Louis Vuitton brand. Too “small,” as the experts thought, and hastened to accuse Mrs. Macron of neglecting royal protocol (and in general, they say, at her age it would be possible to find a longer skirt). But judging by the radiant appearance of the French woman, everyone knows where she saw their fashion tips.

The Belgian Queen Mathilde was responsible for the leisure of the first ladies. Arriving in Brussels were: First Lady of France Brigitte Macron, First Lady of Turkey Emine Gulbaran Erdogan, First Lady of the United States Melania Trump, companion of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Ingrid Shulerud, First Lady of Bulgaria Desislava Radeva, friend of the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel - Amelie Derbaudrengien, husband of the Prime Minister Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel - Gautier Destne, common-law wife of Prime Minister of Slovenia Miroslav Cerar Jr. - Moika Stropnik, First Lady of Iceland Margret Baldvinsdottir.

A separate cultural program was invented for the spouses of heads of state. And of course, all eyes were focused on the outfits and accessories of the first ladies.

The main style competition was between Melania Trump and the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, 64-year-old Brigitte Macron.

Newly settled at the Elysee Palace, Brigitte Macron has quickly become a style icon, thanks to her Louis Vuitton wardrobe, trendy long bangs and effortlessly modern yet elegant way of creating her own style. Brigitte represented Parisian chic in Brussels.

But competing with the glamorously polished style of former model Melania Trump is still not so easy. The fitted suits and incredibly feminine lace dresses of Dolce & Gabbana, and the impeccable grooming of Melania, who accompanied her husband on his first foreign tour, did not go unnoticed.

Moreover, Melania smiled in Brussels. Perhaps this became the biggest sensation in the “first ladies club”.

Although her beige leather suit is Belgian design house Maison Ullens, chosen for the Brussels meeting, also attracted close attention. Yes, “leather”, yes “beige” - in front of cameras from all over the world. This is practically a feat.

But let's return to Brigitte Macron, who was once again equipped with the French Louis Vuitton. The little black dress caused a certain sensation and received a lot of controversial comments: a dress above the knees at an official event is still bold. Although Brigitte - now the first lady of France - never really hid her stunning legs. Lightness and ease are exactly what distinguishes her from Melania. The outfit was complemented by a somewhat playful handbag from the same designer, but with the B.M. monogram.

However, Mrs. Trump had a “trump card” in store for the second half of the day. She changed into a lacy black cocktail dress (Dolce & Gabbana once again) while most of the other first ladies stayed in the same outfit.

No amount of carelessness could hide some of Brigitte Macron’s irritation at this moment.

Other wives and partners, meanwhile, stuck to "safe" or traditional variations on the theme of formal attire and, apparently, did not even think about getting involved in this secret style competition.

Another moment of the summit, which was heavily commented on on social networks, was the presence of Gautier Destenay, he is the husband of Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel (the first openly gay prime minister), in the official photograph of the wives of the summit leaders.

Luxembourg's "First Gentleman" Gautier Destenay took part in cultural program, prepared for first ladies.

Destenay, an architect by profession, married Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel in 2015.

Melania Trump, Queen Matilda and Ingrid Shulerud

The meeting of the first ladies of the G7 countries is being vigorously discussed online. However, it is not because of Melania Trump, as one might think: the cause of the fuss was 38-year-old Gautier Destenay, the husband of 44-year-old Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel. Gaultier became the first man to take part in the official meeting of the first ladies. However, this did not bother him in any way: the husband of the Luxembourg politician gladly posed for invited photographers, smiling widely.

After the meeting in the royal palace, an official protocol photograph was taken with all participants. Gautier Destenay also took part in the photocall: he stood behind the wife of Turkish President Emine Erdogan and Melania Trump. In addition to them, in the photo you can see the First Lady of France Brigitte Macron, the companion of NATO Secretary General Ingrid Shulerud, the friend of the President of Bulgaria Desislava Radev, the beloved Prime Minister of Belgium Amelie Derbaudrengien, the common-law wife of the Prime Minister of Slovenia Moika Stropnik and the wife of the Prime Minister of Iceland Margret Baldvinsdottir.

First Ladies of NATO countries and Gauthier Destiny

Let us remind you that Gautier Destinay has been a Luxembourg politician of Xavier Bettel since May 2015. The Prime Minister became the third head of government in the world (after Bertrand Delanoë in Paris and Klaus Wowereit in Berlin) to enter into a same-sex marriage.

Today the G7 summit opens in Taormina, Sicily, where all heads of NATO countries will gather. US leader Donald Trump and his wife Melania are already in Italy.

Xavier Bettel and Gautier Destinay