Macron had to take a break because of the burp before he could deliver his speech ahead of Friday night’s match between France and New Zealand at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis.
The French president’s popularity has fallen over the past year after he pushed through a controversial reform to raise the country’s retirement age.
Among French rugby fans, Macron’s reception at the Stade de France evokes mixed feelings.
— The people have not forgotten the insults and the pension reform. He got the welcome he deserved, says Bastien Lachaud, from the left-wing LFI party in Seine-Saint-Denis.
Instead, the booing crowd receives harsh criticism from Macron supporters.
— This should not happen in a stadium. To boo the president of the republic is to boo France, says Mathieu Lefevre, member of parliament from Macron’s Renaissance party.