British PM Boris Johnson put his foot up on a table when meeting French President Macron. But why?

Boris Johnson is known for often putting his foot in his mouth, but this time it’s the British Prime Minister’s foot on a table that has ruffled feathers online.

Images and videos of Johnson resting his right foot on a small table at French President Emmanuel Macron’s palace in France have been met with outrage. While some criticised the prime minister’s manners by calling him uncouth, others questioned his schooling.

However, there appears to have been more to the story. According to a Reuters clip posted by Sky News political correspondent Tom Rayner, President Macron was making small talk about how the tables were small enough to be footstools –– to demonstrate which Johnson lifted his boot onto the table.

According to the BBC, French media have made light of the incident, too.

Alarmed by the rage online, some twitter users wrote about context and a culture of internet outrage. “Foot. Table. Half a second,” wrote one user. “Does your outrage not ever get exhausting?”