emmanuel macron is not the first French President to have a dog living in Elysee Palace, and probably won’t be the last. However, his Labrador-Griffon crossbreed Nemo is the first rescue animal to be housed in the presidential palace. He was adopted by Macron and his wife this summer and has been featured in many photo spreads in the palace gardens. However, this time Nemo was featured in a video, performing a typical canine pose – lifting his leg and peeing into the ornate fireplace in the French President’s rather fancy office.

Nemo, the presidential dog, lifts a leg

Nemo, the two-year-old presidential pet, was likely getting impatient as his master’s meeting went on and on and couldn’t wait to get out into the garden. Macron was involved in a meeting with three junior ministers at the time, while the television channel TF1 was busy filming the proceedings for posterity.

As reported by the Telegraph, as Macron and the ministers were talking, laughter could be heard as Nemo lifted his leg against the ornate fireplace in Macron’s office. While the rather loud peeing session was ongoing, Macron and his junior ministers just sat there, helplessly watching.

As Nemo finished his task, Brune Poir, junior minister for ecology, said he had wondered what the noise was, as he had been talking at the time Nemo chose to relieve himself.

Macron’s aide and junior minister Julien Denormandie asked Macron if that happens often, to which Macron laughed, but remained seated, continuing the discussion about inner-city investment.

The French President did say generally that they sparked unusual behavior in his dog. It is unknown who was assigned the task of cleaning up after Nemo.

Other scandals involving French presidential dogs

As noted by the Guardian, Nemo isn’t alone when it comes to misbehaving in the president’s residence. While French presidential pets are often used in photographic spreads with their owners, they are not always happy with their lot while staying in Elysee Palace.

Nicolas Sarkozy’s dogs infamously caused thousands of euros worth of damage by gnawing on the historic furniture in the palace. That report quotes Mediapart as saying much restoration work was required after Sarkozy left the building.

Then there was Sumo, a miniature white Maltese poodle belonging to former French president Jacques Chirac. Sumo apparently didn’t mind living in the palace at all and got horribly depressed when he had to leave and move into an apartment.
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