Posting a video clip of himself on X, formerly Twitter, in a T-shirt with boxing gloves slung over his shoulder and with a punching bag in the background, the president urged his compatriots to exercise for 30 minutes a day, "and more if possible". 

Exercise is beneficial "for health and for many other things, and it's also a way of making the Olympics part of our daily routine," commented Macron, 46. With 200 days to go until the Games begin on 26 July, Macron said the government will promote sport "as a great national cause" this year, including by boosting physical education instruction in schools, he told AFP. 

The president said he hoped France would win "many medals" at the Games and that more amateurs would take up sport.

Macron occasionally puts on boxing gloves in public and has been seen sparring with professional trainers or with his bodyguards. Analysing his skills, the specialist YouTube channel Boxe Attitude noted last year that "the president has a good jab, fast and energetic", "good reflexes" and "doesn't give away the direction of a jab". 

Despite a "certain stiffness", he seems to "train regularly", according to Boxe Attitude. A source in Macron's office said the government had already met a target it set in 2017 to get three million more people exercising regularly, and was now aiming for another three million by 2027. The Paris Summer Olympics run until 11 August and the Paralympics from 28 August to 8 September.