Emmanuel Macron's official portrait prompts a meme frenzy Published duration 30 June 2017

image copyright Twitter/EmmanuelMacron

French President Emmanuel Macron sparked a Twitter frenzy in May by taking a garden stroll with the equally photogenic Justin Trudeau.

And now he's scored another online hit - by tweeting his official portrait.

Like many such pictures, the image shared on Thursday is a fairly formal shot of the president standing by his desk.

But that didn't stop the meme-creating masses from transplanting him to a range of alternative locations.

The hashtag #PoseTonMacron ("pose your Macron") quickly attracted submissions including Men In Black Macron, table football Macron, and Titanic Macron.

image copyright Twitter/LeMendibilien

image copyright Twitter/Naodann

image copyright Twitter/MaxBook59

image copyright Twitter/JuCarnon

The French leader's half-smile and wide-armed pose also popped up amid a haka with the New Zealand rugby team...

image copyright Twitter/airwone17

...in Teletubbyland, home of the much-loved children's TV characters...

image copyright Twitter/Fraisedapunk

...and in a YMCA parody, which punned on the full name of his party, La République en marche (LREM).

image copyright Twitter/IanMaddison

At time of writing, the president's tweet sharing the portrait has been "liked" 91,000 times and re-tweeted a further 30,000.

Offline, French media took a more analytical look at the picture. Many pounced on the presence of two smartphones next to Mr Macron's left hand, claiming they showed the new president wants to be an accessible, modern leader.

Some readers were sceptical. Surely the president had simply forgotten they were there?

media caption Behind the scenes: Mr Macron takes care of the little things...

Mr Macron's media adviser answered that question later by tweeting a behind-the-scenes video which shows how the photo was taken. In it, the president can be seen thoughtfully arranging the phones and some books on his desk before posing.