Macron, who made the comment in an interview last week, has been the target of frequent Russian criticism because of his support for Ukraine.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow that Macron was constantly making strange statements that sometimes crossed the line of decency and turned into “low-grade insults”.

“This is unworthy of a head of state,” said Zakharova.

Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Macron replied he was never vulgar, but was only saying what many in the countries that have been invaded by Russia in the past decades so felt.

“When we say there’s an ogre at Europe’s gates, an expression used by many, I think it characterises what the Georgians, the Ukrainians and other nations feel very deeply,” Macron told reporters.