Emmanuel Macron has blasted 'extraordinarily rude' Brazil leader Jair Bolsonaro for insulting his wife and appearing to criticise her looks as their feud over the Amazon fires got personal today.

Bolsonaro endorsed a sexist Facebook post about France's 66-year-old first lady Brigitte Macron yesterday, the latest chapter in an escalating war of words between him and his French counterpart.

French President Macron, 41, had called for emergency talks by G7 nations on the fires destroying chunks of the Amazon rainforest, piling pressure on Bolsonaro, who in turn accused him of having a 'colonialist mentality'.

A Bolsonaro supporter yesterday posted a meme mocking the appearance of Mrs Macron and compared her unfavourably with Brazil's 37-year-old first lady Michelle Bolsonaro.

It had the tagline: 'Now you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?'

The right wing Brazilian leader, 64, replied: 'Do not humiliate the guy, ha ha,' referring to Mr Macron.

When asked about the post at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, today, Macron said that 'Brazilian women are probably feeling ashamed of their president.'

The dispute comes as Macron announced the G7 counties would release 20 million euros ($22m) to help fight the raging fires in the Amazon.

A Bolsonaro supporter yesterday posted this meme mocking Brigitte Macron, 66, and comparing her unfavourably with Brazil's first lady 37-year-old Michelle Bolsonaro. It says: 'Now you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?' The far-right Brazilian leader replied: 'Do not humiliate the guy, ha ha,' referring to Mr Macron

The French President (pictured with wife Brigitte at the G7 in Biarritz, France on Saturday) said: 'He said very disrespectful things about my wife, I have great respect for the Brazilian people and can only hope they soon have a president who is up to the job'

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, pictured second left with his wife Michelle Bolsonaro far left and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and his wife Juliana Awada on the right, has been facing pressure from Macron over the fires in the Amazon

Jair Bolsonaro's approval plummets to 29 per cent amid outrage over Amazon fires as he rejects G7 offer of $22m and accuses the West of treating Brazil 'like a colony' Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's approval rating has plunged to 29.4 per cent today after he rejected a $22 million offer of help from the G7 to fight the fires raging through the Amazon. His approval rating had been up at 39 per cent in February before it's dramatic fall in the poll conducted between August 22 and August 25 and released today. The poll also saw Bolsonaro's personal disapproval rating surge to 53.7 per cent from 28.2 per cent. Earlier, Bolsonaro slammed a G7 agreement on fighting the Amazon fires, saying that it would treat Brazil 'like a colony'. The response came in a tweet on Monday morning after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the G7 had agreed on a $22 million firefighting fund as well as a long-term initiative to protect the rainforest. At the same time, Macron savaged the Brazilian president for 'extraordinarily disrespectful comments' about his wife and reiterated that Bolsonaro had lied about commitments to deforestation. Advertisement

Asked whether the response on social media came from Bolsonaro himself, a spokesman for Brazil's presidential palace refused to comment.

But the French Prime Minister hit back today, saying: 'He said very disrespectful things about my wife, I have great respect for the Brazilian people and can only hope they soon have a president who is up to the job.'

He said Bolsonaro's comments were 'extraordinarily rude', adding: 'What can I say? It's sad. It's sad for him firstly, and for Brazilians.'

Mr Macron added at the press conference in France: 'I think Brazilian women will probably be ashamed to read that from their president.

'I think that Brazilians, who are a great people, will probably be ashamed to see this behaviour.

'And as I feel friendship and respect towards the Brazilian people, I hope that they will very soon have a president who behaves in the right way.'

President Bolsonaro later hit back at the French leader with a thread of tweets and said Macron's 'improper and wanton attacks on the Amazon' were 'unreasonable.'

He also said: 'Other heads of state sympathized with Brazil, after all respect for the sovereignty of any country is the least that can be expected in a civilized world.'

The fires across the world's largest rainforest, which experts have blamed on rampant deforestation, have triggered a global outcry.

European nations have lead the charge against Bolsonaro, who has made no secret of his skepticism about climate change.

Brazil was angered after Macron, in the run up to the G7 summit, tweeted a photo of the burning Amazon forest, writing: 'Our house is burning. Literally.'

Macron said he had been lied to by Bolsonaro over his commitments to fighting climate change.

Today Macron said the G7 countries would release 20 million euros to help support efforts to tackle the fires.

Mr Macron said the funds would be available 'immediately' to be used mainly for paying for more fire-fighting planes.

Macron had already declared the situation in the Amazon region an 'international crisis' and made it one of the summit's priorities this past weekend.

He also threatened to block a new trade deal between the EU and Latin America unless Bolsonaro takes serious steps to protect the forest from logging and mining.

'We must respond to the call of the forest which is burning today in the Amazon,' Macron said Monday.

Mr Macron (left, wife Brigitte) said Bolsonaro's (right) comments were 'extraordinarily rude', adding: 'What can I say? It's sad. It's sad for him firstly, and for Brazilians'

Asked whether the response came from Bolsonaro (pictured with wife Michelle) himself, a spokesman for Brazil's presidential palace refused to comment

Nearly 80,000 forest fires have been detected in Brazil since the beginning of the year, a little over half in the massive Amazon basin.

'France will also offer concrete support with military in the region within the next few hours,' the French leader said.

President Bolsonaro's comments 'extremely disrespectful,' says Emmanuel Macron When asked about the posts on social media Macron said they were 'extremely disrespectful' to his wife. He said: 'It's sad, it's sad first of all for him and for Brazilians. 'Brazilian women are probably feeling ashamed of their president. 'Since I have a lot of esteem and respect for the people of Brazil, I hope they will very soon have a president who is up to the job.' Yesterday Jair Bolsonaro responded to a meme mocking Brigitte Macron, 66. Advertisement

The row has seen Brazilian politicians - including Bolsonaro's son Eduardo - take potshots at Mr Macron, with education minister Abraham Weintraub calling him 'an opportunist idiot' and 'a president without character' in a flurry of tweets Sunday.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, who is tipped to be the next ambassador to Washington, on Friday retweeted a video showing violent yellow-vest protests in France headlined 'Macron is an idiot', calling it 'a message' to the French leader.

Mr Macron has accused Bolsonaro of lying about a June pledge to fight global warming and threatened to block efforts to seal a major trade deal between the EU and South America's Mercosur nations over the Amazon crisis.

Ties between Brazil and France have plunged since Bolsonaro's election. Last month the Brazilian leader snubbed France's top diplomat by cancelling their meeting and getting a haircut instead, which he broadcast live on Facebook.

Jean-Yves Le Drian had angered Bolsonaro by meeting with non-profits which have been critical of the South American leader.

Brigitte was seen welcoming President Trump's wife Melania, 49, who looked summery in a white maxi dress and matching heels, as they embarked on day two of the summit

Last week Bolsonaro accused non-profit organisations of deliberately starting the fires after their funding was cut.

Brazil's first lady Mrs Bolsonaro, pictured, has been married to the President since 2007

Bolsonaro, pictured with his wife, has shared or made several controversial posts on social media in recent weeks including retweeted a video showing violent yellow-vest protests in France headlined 'Macron is an idiot', calling it 'a message' to the French leader, on Friday

The fires (pictured yesterday) across the world's largest rainforest, which experts have blamed on rampant deforestation, have triggered a global outcry

Trees are destroyed after a fire in the Alvorada da Amazonia region in Novo Progresso, Para state, on Sunday. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has rallied anger at home and criticism from abroad in his response to the fires raging in the Amazon

Bolsonaro's approval rating has plunged to 29.4 per cent today after he rejected a $22 million offer of help from the G7 to fight the fires raging through the Amazon.

His approval rating had been up at 39 per cent in February before it's dramatic fall in the poll conducted between August 22 and August 25 and released today.

The poll also saw Bolsonaro's personal disapproval rating surge to 53.7 per cent from 28.2 per cent.

Earlier, Bolsonaro slammed a G7 agreement on fighting the Amazon fires, saying that it would treat Brazil 'like a colony'.

The response came in a tweet on Monday morning after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the G7 had agreed on a $22 million firefighting fund as well as a long-term initiative to protect the rainforest.

At the same time, Macron savaged the Brazilian president for 'extraordinarily disrespectful comments' about his wife and reiterated that Bolsonaro had lied about commitments to deforestation.

Bolsonaro, in turn, said Macron's 'ludicrous and unnecessary attacks on the Amazon' were unacceptable and accused him of treating the region 'as if we were a colony.'

He said: 'We cannot accept that a president, Macron, unleashes unreasonable and unreasonable attacks on the Amazon, nor disguises his intentions behind the idea of ​​an 'alliance' of the G-7 countries to 'save' the Amazon, as if we were a colony or a no man's land.

'Other heads of state sympathized with Brazil, after all respect for the sovereignty of any country is the least that can be expected in a civilized world.'

The fires across the world's largest rainforest, which experts have blamed on rampant deforestation, have triggered a global outcry.

European nations have lead the charge against Bolsonaro, who has made no secret of his skepticism about climate change.

Brazil was angered after Macron, in the run up to the G7 summit, tweeted a photo of the burning Amazon forest, writing: 'Our house is burning. Literally.'

Macron said he had been lied to by Bolsonaro over his commitments to fighting climate change.

Today Macron said the G7 countries would release 20 million euros to help support efforts to tackle the fires.

Mr Macron said the funds would be available 'immediately' to be used mainly for paying for more fire-fighting planes.

Macron said he had been lied to by Bolsonaro over his commitments to fighting climate change

Macron had already declared the situation in the Amazon region an 'international crisis' and made it one of the summit's priorities this past weekend.

He also threatened to block a new trade deal between the EU and Latin America unless Bolsonaro takes serious steps to protect the forest from logging and mining.

The back and forth deteriorated over the weekend when Bolsonaro endorsed a Facebook post insulting Macron's wife, Brigitte.

Macron also accused him of missing a scheduled meeting with the French foreign minister in favor of a barber appointment and reiterated that Bolsonaro had lied to him.

Macron said: 'It's sad. First for him and for the Brazilians.

'I think that Brazilians, who are a great people, will probably be ashamed to see this behaviour.'

Macron said the US supported the initiative, although he acknowledged that U.S. President Donald Trump had skipped Monday's working session on the environment.

Satellites have recorded more than 41,000 fires in the Amazon region so far this year - with more than half of those coming this month alone. Experts say most of the fires are set by farmers or ranchers clearing existing farmland.

Macron also said he is considering launching an international campaign to help sub-Saharan African countries fight fires raging in the area that are being compared to the Amazon rainforest fires.

He tweeted from the Group of Seven summit Monday that 'the forest is also burning in sub-Saharan Africa. We are studying the possibility of launching an initiative similar to what we just announced for the Amazon.'

Macron said earlier Monday that G-7 nations are committing $20 million to countries in the Amazon region to help fight the fires and help with 're-forestation.'

Environmental groups have expressed concern about massive fires in African countries including Angola and Congo that are getting less attention than those in the Amazon, which have caused worldwide concern because of their potential impact on climate change.

NASA photos show the Amazon fires lighting up the night sky across all of South America and a huge plume of carbon monoxide being released into the atmosphere

Huge swathes of fires in the Amazon rainforest can still be seen from space in the latest satellite image released by NASA.

The sobering picture, taken between August 15-22, show lit up areas in South America where large blazes continued to burn.

Hundreds of new fires have been discovered raging in the rainforest as thousands of troops were deployed to battle the horrifying blazes, some of which have been going for more than three weeks.

The locations of the infernos, shown in orange, have been overlain on nighttime imagery, with cities and towns presented as white, forests in black, and woodland in grey.

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The locations of the infernos, shown in orange, have been overlain on nighttime imagery, with cities and towns presented as white, forests in black, and woodland in grey

The large patch of orange in the north east of Brazil concentrates around the states of Pará and Amazonas, which have both been heavily affected.

Wildfires in populated areas such as Porto Velho in Rondonia have been particularly hard hit, with a blanket of smoke engulfing the city.

NASA has also released a time series showing a huge carbon monoxide plume lingering over Brazil.

The images, which were taken at 18,000ft between August 8 and August 22 using the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard the Aqua satellite, highlights carbon monoxide in green when the amount is about 100 parts per billion by volume (ppbv).

The images, which was taken at 18,000ft between August 8 and August 22 using the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard the Aqua satellite, highlights carbon monoxide in green when the amount is about 100 parts per billion by volume (ppbv)

It also shows the gas in yellow if it is around 120 ppbv and red when it is at 160 ppbv.

The map clearly shows that as the days move on, the carbon monoxide levels increase, particularly in the north west of Brazil, before drifting across to the south east of the rainforest.

The individual days in the series are constructed by getting an average from three days' worth of results. This rids the possibility of data gaps.

NASA said: 'Carbon monoxide is a pollutant that can be transported large distances and persist in the atmosphere for about one month.

'At the high altitude mapped in these images, the gas has little effect on the air we breathe; however, strong winds can carry it downward to where it can significantly impact air quality.

'Carbon monoxide plays a role in both air pollution and climate change.'

A fire burns in highway margins in the city of Porto Velho, Rondonia state, part of Brazil's Amazon, on Sunday. It has led to plumes of smoke and fires to be visible from space

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has rallied anger at home and criticism from abroad in his response to the fires raging in the Amazon.

The far-right populist leader initially dismissed the hundreds of blazes and then questioned whether activist groups might have started the fires in an effort to damage the credibility of his government, which has called for looser environmental regulations in the world's largest rainforest to spur development.

In response, European leaders threatened to end a trade deal with Brazil and other South American nations.

Thousands of people have demonstrated in cities across Brazil and outside Brazilian embassies around the world.

#PrayforAmazonia became a worldwide trending topic.

An area smolders in the Alvorada da Amazonia region in Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil, Sunday, on Sunday. The far-right populist leader initially dismissed the hundreds of blazes and then questioned whether activist groups might have started the fires in an effort to damage the credibility of his government, which has called for looser environmental regulations in the world's largest rainforest to spur development

Several residents in the capital, Porto Velho, said that what appeared to be light clouds hanging over the city of half a million people, was actually smoke from the blazes. Pictured: Aerial view of burnt areas of the Amazon rainforest, near Porto Velho, Rondonia state

Pope Francis added his voice to the chorus of concern, warning that the 'lung of forest is vital for our planet.'

Bolsonaro finally took a less confrontational approach Friday and announced he would send 44,000 soldiers to help battle the blazes, which mostly seem to be charring land deforested, perhaps illegally, for farming and ranching rather than burning through stands of trees.

Some say it's not enough and comes too late.

'No democratic government has suffered such international criticism as Bolsonaro is going through,' said Mauricio Santoro, an international relations professor at Rio de Janeiro State University. 'By breaching international environmental agreements, Brazil has been discredited, blurred and unable to exercise any type of leadership on the international stage.'

A woman holds up a sign that reads 'SOS Amazons. Everybody for the Amazon' featuring a stuffed sloth animal during a protest in defense of the Amazon while wildfires burn in that region, in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. Experts from the country's satellite monitoring agency say most of the fires are set by farmers or ranchers clearing existing farmland, but the same monitoring agency has reported a sharp increase in deforestation this year as well

Brazilian military planes began dumping water on fires in the Amazon state of Rondonia over the weekend, and a few hundred of the promised troops deployed into the fire zone. But many Brazilians again took to the streets in Rio de Janeiro and other cities Sunday to demand the administration do more. Some held banners that read: 'Bol$onaro is burning our future.'

Bolsonaro has previously described rainforest protections as an obstacle to Brazil's economic development.

Critics say the record number of fires this year has been stoked by his encouragement of farmers, loggers and ranchers to speed efforts to strip away forest.

Although he has now vowed to protect the area, they say it is only out of fear of a diplomatic crisis and economic losses.

Above are aerial pictures supplied by Greenpeace of Porto Veleho in Rondonia State in the Amazon basin in northwestern Brazil on Saturday. The image shows fires smouldering tracks through the jungle and smoke flying upwards into the sky

'The international pressure today has a bigger impact than the demonstrations by Brazilians on the streets,' Santoro said.

The leaders of the Group of Seven nations said Sunday that they were preparing a plan for helping Brazil battle the fires and repair the damage.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the help would involve both technical and financial mechanisms 'so that we can help them in the most effective way possible.'

Firefighters work to put out fires in the Vila Nova Samuel region, along the road to the National Forest of Jacunda, near to the city of Porto Velho, Rondonia state, on Sunday. The leaders of the Group of Seven nations said Sunday that they were preparing a plan for helping Brazil battle the fires and repair the damage

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country and others will talk with Brazil about reforestation in the Amazon once the fires have been extinguished.

'Of course (this is) Brazilian territory, but we have a question here of the rainforests that is really a global question,' she said. 'The lung of our whole Earth is affected, and so we must find common solutions.'

Fires are common during Brazil's dry season, but this year has set an alarming record.

The country's National Space Research Institute, which monitors deforestation, has recorded more than 77,000 wildfires in Brazil this year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country and others will talk with Brazil about reforestation in the Amazon once the fires have been extinguished. Pictured: Fire consumes a field along the BR 070 highway near Cuiaba, Mato Grosso state, on Sunday

That is an 85 per cent rise over last year, and about half of the fires have been in the Amazon region.

'We've had eight months without any type of concrete action in defense of the Amazon,' said Rómulo Batista, a member of Greenpeace Brazil's Amazonia Campaign.

He said the flames licking over swaths of the Amazon are a reflection of Bolsonaro's environmental policy.

'The government created a sense of impunity among farmers who were willing to commit illegal acts to deforest,' he said.

Fires are common during Brazil's dry season, but this year has set an alarming record. The country's National Space Research Institute, which monitors deforestation, has recorded more than 77,000 wildfires in Brazil this year. In this photo released by Brazil Ministry of Defense, a C-130 Hercules aircraft dumps water to fight fires burning in the Amazon

'Thousands of species of plants and animals are being killed, many of them that we don't even know. The population of nearby cities is suffering terrible damage because they're breathing that air and it's causing them respiratory problems. And the rise in deforestation can completely alter the rain patterns by region and devastate agriculture, even in South America.'

Bolsonaro has argued with critics who note that the Amazon produces vast amounts of oxygen and is considered crucial for efforts to contain climate change.

But Batista predicts the fires will prove a turning point and the pressure by G-7 leaders will shift Bolsonaro's view on the environment.

Trees that survived a forest fire stand amid smoldering smoke in the Vila Nova Samuel region, along the road to the National Forest of Jacunda, near to the city of Porto Velho, Rondonia state

Brazil's federal police agency announced Sunday that it would investigate reports that farmers in the state of Para, one of those most affected by the blazes, had called for 'a day of fire' to ignite fires August 10.

Local news media said a group organized the action over WhatsApp to show support for Bolsonaro's efforts to loosen environmental regulations.

Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who oversees the police, said on Twitter that Bolsonaro 'asked for a rigorous investigation' and said 'the criminal fires will be severely punished.'

Merkel noted Bolsonaro is putting 'significant forces' into the effort to save the rainforest.

But Bolsonaro has had a tense relationship with foreign governments - including Germany's - and non-governmental groups that he accuses of meddling in his country's management of the Amazon.

Macron's office on Friday complained that the Brazilian leader 'had lied to him' about environmental commitments.

Asked if he would speak with Macron, Bolsonaro said on Saturday: 'If he calls me, I will answer. I am being extremely well-mannered with him even though he called me 'a liar'.'

