A video clip capturing a candid moment between French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron has sparked widespread online discussion. The footage, recorded as the couple prepared to disembark from their plane in Hanoi, Vietnam, shows Brigitte Macron appearing to push her husband’s face playfully while they stood at the aircraft door.
In the clip, a uniformed crew member opens the plane door as President Macron, dressed in a suit, stands at the threshold. Brigitte, wearing a red blazer, reaches out with both hands—one covering her husband’s mouth and nose, the other on his jaw—seemingly pushing him back. Macron turns his head slightly before quickly noticing the cameras. He smiles and waves before stepping out of the doorway.
In this grab taken from video, French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to disembark a plane on arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
Despite the unexpected gesture, the pair later descended the aircraft stairs together. Macron offered his arm to his wife, which she declined to take, further fueling speculation about the exchange.
As the video circulated widely, President Macron addressed the situation, clarifying that the moment was nothing more than playful banter between him and his wife. “We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,” Macron told reporters, adding that the incident was being blown out of proportion and jokingly referred to it as being treated like “a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.”
French newspaper Le Parisien ran a headline that read: “Slap or ‘squabble’? The images of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron disembarking in Vietnam trigger a lot of comment.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron disembark from the plane upon their arrival at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 25, 2025. (LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Macron, who married Brigitte in 2007 after meeting her when she was a teacher and he a student, emphasized that people should not jump to conclusions based on out-of-context clips. “Everyone needs to calm down,” he said.
The president’s office also played down the moment, stating it was simply a “moment of complicity” and light-heartedness after a long flight. “It was a time for the couple to decompress before beginning their official visit. It’s unfortunate it’s being used to fuel baseless theories,” the statement added.
CNN also quoted the president’s team describing the moment as a display of “togetherness” between the couple, stressing it was nothing more than harmless teasing.
