French President Emmanuel Macron has brushed off as mere couple’s banter, a brief but viral moment when his wife, Brigitte Macron, dished him a slap in the face as the couple arrived in Vietnam to begin a Southeast Asia tour.
The incident, captured on video late Sunday, showed Brigitte seemingly shoving the president before he descended the steps of the presidential aircraft. The gesture caused Macron to briefly step back before regaining composure and waving to awaiting cameras. Brigitte, partially obscured by the plane’s fuselage, was not clearly visible during the exchange. The couple then descended the stairs together, with Brigitte notably refusing to take her husband’s arm.
Addressing the matter in Hanoi on Monday, Macron told reporters: “I was bickering, or rather joking, with my wife. It’s nothing.”
The French president also warned against misinterpretations of video clips, accusing some online users—whom he referred to as “crackpots”—of distorting reality.
He referenced a recent incident during a train visit to Ukraine, where a video circulated online showing him removing a crumpled white object from a table. Social media users speculated, without evidence, that it was a bag of cocaine. Macron clarified it was a tissue and his office later blamed foreign actors for spreading falsehoods.
Speaking to Reuters, an official from the Elysée Palace also played down the latest incident, saying: “It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.”
Macron’s visit to Vietnam marks the first by a French president in nearly a decade and is aimed at strengthening ties with the former French colony. The trip also comes amid growing concern in Brussels over Vietnam’s recent trade concessions to the United States, which some fear could shift trade dynamics at Europe’s expense.
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