PARIS (AP) — France's first lady says Emmanuel Macron's election as president "terrified" her and insists that she has no political ambitions of her own.

Oh, and she hates the word "cougar."

In an unusually intimate interview with France's RTL radio Thursday night, Brigitte Macron described the complexities of her relationship with a man 24 years her junior, saying "we're not an ideal couple."

She acknowledged the French president, her husband, has made mistakes, notably when he insulted unemployed people and failed to discipline a security aide who beat a protester, a misstep that mushroomed into a political scandal.

She also expressed sympathy with yellow vest protesters struggling to make ends meet who are angry at Macron's pro-business policies.

And she insisted: "No, no, no, no. I have neither the taste nor the competence for politics."