France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, hit back on Thursday at mockery of her age and appearance on Jair Bolsonaro’s Facebook page amid a war of words between the Brazilian president and her husband that has left £18m in emergency funding for the Amazon in limbo.

Her comments came as Mr Bolsonaro, accused by critics of allowing tens of thousands of fires to rage unchecked in the Amazon rainforest, announced a two-month ban on fires deliberately started by farmers.

Critics have accused the Brazilian president of allowing farmers to start fires in order to clear forest for crops or grazing.

Mrs Macron, 65, did not mention Mr Bolsonaro by name, but implied that the 64-year-old president was out of tune with contemporary attitudes to women.

Mrs Macron thanked the thousands of Brazilians who had offered apologies on social media for their president’s approval of a post deriding her for being nearly 25 years older than her husband, Emmanuel Macron, the French president.

The post implied that Michelle Bolsonaro, the 37-year-old wife of Mr Bolsonaro, 64, was better looking than the French first lady.

Mrs Macron said: “Times are changing. There are those who are on the train of change, women are there with you, like you, you’ve almost all understood, gentlemen. Not everyone, some are still on the platform and I’m sure they will soon get on the train.”