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Home » Air France » Who Was This VIP On My Paris Flight?
Air France

Who Was This VIP On My Paris Flight?

Matthew Klint Posted onSeptember 2, 2021November 14, 2023 40 Comments

a police officer standing in front of a building

I was looking though some pictures last night in preparation for my next trip report and was reminded of a small incident that occurred prior to a recent domestic Air France flight. It’s a bit late now, but I’m still interested if any of you, dear readers, can identify this VIP.

Who Was The VIP Arriving From Paris On Air France?

The “sighting” took place on July 29th at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, the airport which straddles France and Switzerland with Germany just a few kilometers away. My wife and I were heading to Paris (there’s a backstory there too…stay tuned) and the inbound flight from Paris was late.

As we stood at the gate area waiting for our Embraer 170 to arrive, I noticed an entourage of vehicles pull up. There was a large black Peugeot sedan, police cars, and a couple other cars.

cars parked cars in a parking lot

Celebrity? Politician? President Macron?

No one else in the gate area seemed to care, but I closely watched as our aircraft finally landed and taxied to the gate.

Shortly thereafter, a man in a military uniform hopped out of one of the cards and proceeded up the stairs to the jet bridge. Another man in a suit, who appeared to be the driver of the black sedan, stepped out and nervously began dusting the exterior of the car.

a man standing in front of a building

The uniformed man returned along with a police officer and the VIP: blonde-haired woman smartly dressed in black jeans, a white blouse, white athletic shoes, and a white jacket with epaulets.

a man walking on a crosswalk

a police officer standing at a crosswalk

people standing in front of a black car

a group of people standing around a car

Four men followed behind her.

She was directed to the backseat of the Peugeot, where she sat down alone while a security guard and driver sat in the front. The other men climbed into the cars behind her.

a group of people walking in front of a building

a group of people standing outside a building

a group of people walking in front of a building

The man in uniform (what branch?) watched as she drove away.

a police officer standing next to a car

a police officer standing in front of a car

And that was that.

I looked up the top French government officials and did not see an exact match, though perhaps it was Barbara Pompili, the Minister for the Ecological Transition or Bérangère Abba, the Secretary of State for Biodiversity? Is there a big government office in Mulhouse? But the mask makes it difficult to tell and I must admit, I’m not up on French politics beyond what I hear on BBC or NPR.

So who can shed light on who I saw?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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40 Comments

  1. Arthur Dent Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 6:49 am

    It was only a Peugeot sedan worthy person…

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 9:36 am

      I figured a Mercedes or BMW would be verboten in France for a government official.

      • Pedro Costa Reply
        September 2, 2021 at 11:08 am

        Renault or Peugeot. But it has to be French. No BMW’s or Mercedes etc…

    • Andy K Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 10:56 am

      Haha! Came here to say the same.

  2. Gene Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 7:17 am

    @ Matthew — It was FCQ.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 9:36 am

      Lol. I thought she looked familiar.

  3. shivwitz Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 7:31 am

    Perhaps it’s Brigitte Macron?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 9:37 am

      Not a bad guess.

    • Bob Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 2:20 pm

      No Brigitte is a old lady.

      Emmanuel Macron is 42 but Brigitte is probably in her 70.

  4. Peter Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 7:32 am

    Bérangère Abba visiting the Grand Ventron.

    • Joe Chivas Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 8:39 am

      Jake Cefolia?

      • Gravelly Point Guy Reply
        September 2, 2021 at 9:37 am

        @ Joe. It was Lady Di, I knew this whole thing was a charade!!

  5. Dublin Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 8:36 am

    Martha Stewart?

  6. Samantha Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 9:32 am

    The wife of SFO777

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 9:35 am

      Lol

    • Greg Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 12:00 pm

      This is the best frequent-flyer blog comment I’ve seen in a very long time.

    • emercycrite Reply
      September 4, 2021 at 8:49 am

      Samantha wins.

  7. Larry Wilde Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 9:35 am

    Bridget Macron

  8. MarkyMarc Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 10:19 am

    My money’s on Brigitte Macron.

    • Joe Chivas Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 12:36 pm

      Brigitte is in her early 70s. This woman looks about 30 years younger.

  9. J Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 11:09 am

    Eva-Maria Llimets, the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The COE is in Strasbourg–ministers frequently use the Europort.

  10. Pedro Costa Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 11:10 am

    She looks at least 20 years younger than Brigitte Macron.

  11. Daughter of Brigitte Macron Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 11:15 am

    Was me

  12. Lara S. Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 11:28 am

    Hair is too long for the Ms. Macron I think, also too smooth and silky. I was in Lufthansa First and the woman in the center seat was addressed as Your Highness (and her husband was not so she was the royalty) and appeared to be ME. She had a small dog with her so of course I struck up a conversation about the dog which she was delighted to talk about. She said she was going home to UAE (I think, its been two years now) after living in DC for some years. I then spent the first few minutes of the flight googling ME princess going home, ME princess lived in DC. Haha. It is so strange how we are interested in people who are famous only bc of a trick of birth!

  13. Pitt Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 11:39 am

    I think she might be a swiss federal councillor (collective head of state) Karin Keller-Sutter

    • Lukas Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 12:30 pm

      No, she has short hair. This woman has longer hair. The mask is making identification even more difficult than normal.

  14. Euroairport Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 12:08 pm

    Tiphaine Macron, likely as a presidential family member accompanied by a representative of the Garde Républicaine.

  15. JBM Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    Obviously it was Celine Dion. Someone must have given her wings and made her fly.

  16. Bob Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 2:30 pm

    “The man in uniform (what branch?) watched as she drove away.”

    It is probably “Le Préfet” and the one of the “Département” or the one of the “Région”. They have an uniform but by no mean are policeman or military people in their current function.

    On other picture you could identify a “gendarme” of “La gendarmerie”. You know in Amsterdam airport they call them over the public announcement system “Maréechaussée” in french in the dutch language.

    It seems it is Alain Charrier.

    https://www.haut-rhin.gouv.fr/Actualites/Actualites-du-Prefet-et-des-Sous-Prefets/2021/Alain-Charrier-nouveau-sous-prefet-de-Mulhouse

    So in this case a Sous-Préfet, so inferior to a “Préfet” but stil in the “Préfet” world.

    France likes all the ceremony about this.

  17. Bob Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 2:50 pm

    Peter has the correct answer.

    There is a propaganda on the ministry site:
    https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/barbara-pompili-et-berangere-abba-se-felicitent-reconnaissance-trois-forets-hetres-francaises-sur

    and

    https://epinalinfos.fr/2021/07/hetraie-grand-ventron-classee-patrimoine-mondial-de-lunesco/

    She was visting the forest on the 29 of july ?

    Were you this day in Mulhouse airport, the 29th of july, Matthieu?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 4:28 pm

      Yes, it was the 29th!

    • Bob Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 11:39 pm

      There is a photo gallery on this website and you can see her wearing the same exact outfit from the airport:

      https://www.vosgesmatin.fr/politique/2021/07/29/berangere-abba-secretaire-d-etat-a-la-biodiversite-est-arrivee-a-la-chaume-du-grand-ventron

  18. Bruce Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    I LOVE the world we live in! Our every move is captured. VIP’s are as human as the rest of us, yet they take calculated risk, which everyday citizens have zero understanding of. Its a dangerous world currently. Stay safe and don’t worry… Be Happy.

  19. Fab Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    Barbara Pompili is a good match

  20. Richard Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 4:31 pm

    On an Air France 380 from IAD to CDG back in 2018, we were all lined up waiting to board when along comes Dr. Ben Carlson and his security detail, headed aboard before the rest of us. Recall he was Trump’s Housing Secretary. I did not see him aboard or after we landed in Paris. Hope that trip complied with the Fly America Act and the requirement for federal employees to fly in coach lol.

    • Bob Reply
      September 2, 2021 at 11:42 pm

      You mean Ben Carson right? Not sure who Bern Carlson is.

  21. Kathy Reply
    September 2, 2021 at 5:04 pm

    Queen Maxima?

  22. Meek Reply
    September 3, 2021 at 12:16 am

    The president of Europe, Ursula von der Leyen ?

  23. Sebastian S. Reply
    September 3, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    She looks like someone I saw stocking the shelves at Walmart. Really!
    Same height, weight and looks.

  24. CB Reply
    September 6, 2021 at 11:26 am

    Queen Mathilde of Belgium

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