Macron’s office downplays plane incident with wife: ‘A moment of togetherness’

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office downplays an incident in which his wife appeared to push his face away as he arrived in Vietnam to begin a Southeast Asian tour.

Footage shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi shows Macron’s plane door opening to reveal him.

His wife Brigitte’s arms emerge from the left of the open doorway, and she places both hands on her husband’s face and gives it a shove.

The president appears startled but quickly recovers and turns to wave through the open door. She remains concealed by the aircraft body, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language.

The couple proceed down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron does not take her husband’s offered arm.

The video clip circulated rapidly online, promoted particularly by accounts that are habitually hostile to the French leader.

Macron’s office initially denied the authenticity of the images, before they were confirmed as genuine.

A close associate of the president later describes the incident as a couple’s harmless “squabble.”

Another member of his entourage plays down the significance of the incident.

“It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around,” the second source tells reporters.

“It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,” the source adds, blaming pro-Russian accounts for negative comments about the incident.

A video has emerged of President Macron getting slapped in the face by his wife as he was about to disembark the presidential plane in Vietnam.

His office initially denied the incident, before changing tunes and calling it “playful teasing” ???????? pic.twitter.com/QWj2Ons4eI

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 26, 2025