French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has minimized an incident captured on video in which his wife, Brigitte Macron, appeared to push his face away as they disembarked their plane in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday evening. The incident occurred as the couple arrived for the start of President Macron’s tour of Southeast Asia.
Footage from the Associated Press news agency showed the door of the presidential aircraft opening to reveal President Macron. Brigitte Macron’s arms then appeared from the left of the doorway, with her placing both hands on her husband’s face and giving it a gentle push. President Macron appeared momentarily startled but quickly recovered, turning to wave through the open doorway. Brigitte Macron remained obscured by the aircraft’s frame, preventing any view of her facial expression or overall body language.
Following the brief moment, the couple proceeded down the aircraft steps where they were officially greeted by Vietnamese officials. Notably, Brigitte Macron did not take the arm offered by her husband as they descended. The short video clip rapidly gained traction online, particularly amplified by social media accounts frequently critical of the French leader.
Initially, President Macron’s office reportedly denied the veracity of the images. However, after the footage was confirmed as genuine, a close associate of the president, speaking anonymously to Agence France-Presse (AFP), described the interaction as a harmless “squabble” between the couple.
Another member of President Macron’s entourage also sought to downplay the incident’s significance. According to reports, this second source told journalists, “It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around. It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists.” The source further attributed negative commentary surrounding the incident to pro-Russian accounts.
Vietnam marks the first stop on President Macron’s nearly week-long tour of Southeast Asia, which also includes visits to Indonesia and Singapore. During the trip, President Macron is expected to promote France as a reliable partner and alternative to both the United States and China in the region.
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