Emmanuel Macron has ordered a swimming pool to be built in the grounds of the French president’s Riviera retreat to avoid prying paparazzi, sparking opposition claims he is dishing himself perks at the expense of the poor.

Mr Macron, 40, has already let it be known that he intends to holiday at the Brégançon fort, a 17th-century fortress overlooking the Mediterranean. Used by Charles de Gaulle and successive presidents, it had fallen out of favour of late - notably because its private beach is easy prey for paparazzi from the sea.

François Hollande, Mr Macron’s predecessor, stopped using Brégançon after he and then-girlfriend Valérie Trierweiler were snapped in their swimwear. She sued French media for invasion of privacy after reportedly complaining the photos made the presidential couple “look fat”.

Mr Macron, who wants to turn Brégançon into a French Camp David for summer meetings with foreign dignitaries, had already ordered the fort to be upholstered with a new kitchen.