Brigitte Macron has been photographed sharing a meal with the American rapper A$AP Rocky, who has been accused of shooting a man.

France’s first lady, 70, was pictured sitting with the artist alongside a group of others at Anna, a Greek restaurant in the centre of Paris.

Their respective partners – Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and the singer Rihanna – were not present.

Last month, A$AP Rocky appeared in a Los Angeles court to plead not guilty to two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and one count of personal use of a firearm.

He was arrested in November 2022 following the alleged shooting of his former friend and collaborator Terell Ephron in downtown Los Angeles the previous year. A pre-trial hearing date has been set for March 6.

Their meal comes weeks after 35-year-old rapper A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Athelaston Mayers, and Rihanna were invited by the Macrons to the Elysee Palace during Paris Fashion Week.

Days after all four met up at the Elysee Palace, the rapper performed at a charity gala held at the Accor Arena in Paris.

The event raised funds for Mrs Macron’s charity Yellow Pieces, which supports children and adolescents in hospital.

The first contact between the couples dates back to 2017 when Rihanna, who had approached the French president on social media, met Mrs Macron to discuss the contribution France was making to funding education in impoverished regions.

Further meetings followed including in Dakar the following year, when they again discussed financial support to promote education in developing countries.

Rihanna is also the founder of the Clara Lionel charity foundation. Named after the singer’s grandparents, it funds health programmes in poor countries across the world.

The singer has strong links with Paris. She chose the French capital to launch her luxury cosmetics line, Fenty, in 2019.

In June 2019, Forbes magazine said that the venture, along with her recording career, made her the world’s richest female recording star.

According to the outlet, she bought a flat in the upmarket 16th arrondissement with her former partner Hassan Jameel.