A surprising moment caught on camera at Hanoi Airport has sparked a storm of online speculation and controversy. The footage, filmed by the Associated Press, shows President Macron, 47, standing at the aircraft door as it opens — when his wife, Brigitte Macron, appears to reach out and lightly shove his face.
The brief gesture, which some interpreted as a slap, left the French President visibly taken aback. Quickly recovering, Macron turned to wave at the waiting media before the couple ascended the stairs. Notably, Brigitte declined to take his offered arm.
The clip rapidly went viral, spreading across social media and news outlets, fueling a wave of commentary — especially from male critics, including Russian state media and French far-right voices — many accusing the First Lady of disrespect.
Initially, the Élysée Palace dismissed the video as likely “fake news.” However, Macron later confirmed its authenticity, insisting the moment was completely misinterpreted.
“There’s a video showing me joking and teasing my wife, and somehow that becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe, with people even coming up with theories to explain it,” Macron told News.com.au. “We are horsing around, having a joke, and I was surprised by that, and that becomes a sort of geopolitical disaster. It’s nonsense. People read all kinds of stupidity into things.”
A spokesperson for the Élysée Palace echoed this, describing the exchange as “a moment of complicity” between the couple, who were “decompressing one last time” before their official engagements in Southeast Asia.
Brigitte’s face wasn’t visible in the video, and the palace stressed the interaction was brief and innocent — far from a slap. “It wasn’t even a slap,” a source said, dismissing the wave of conspiracy theories surrounding the incident.
This video is the latest in a series of viral misinformation campaigns targeting President Macron.
Previously, a clip from a diplomatic train trip to Kyiv with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was distorted online to falsely claim Macron was using cocaine. The footage, which simply showed him picking up a tissue from a table, was twisted into an accusation of drug use.
French officials quickly shot down the rumor, clarifying that the item was just a tissue “for blowing your nose” and condemning the claims as part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.
“When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs,” the officials said. “This fake news is being spread by France’s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation.”
Reflecting on these episodes, Macron dryly noted, “People have thought I shared a bag of cocaine, tussled with the Turkish president, and now that I’m having a domestic dispute with my wife.”
“None of this is true. Everyone needs to calm down,” he concluded.
