The French president lands in Vietnam, the door of the government plane opens, and suddenly, Emmanuel Macron puts his hand to his face. What appears to have been a resounding slap in the face from his wife, Brigitte, was said to have been something else entirely, according to the Élysée Palace. On Sunday evening, remarkable scenes unfolded in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Macron was apparently physically assaulted by his wife. What happened? Footage from the tarmac shows the door of the presidential plane opening and the silhouette of Macron, still inside the plane, appears. At that moment, one of his wife's arms appears, though she is not completely visible. The movement and her husband's subsequent reaction suggest a blow. The head of state appears visibly surprised, but quickly turns around to make a gesture of greeting.
The presidential couple enters the stairs. Macron extends his arm to his wife as usual, but she does not take it. Instead, she takes the railing of the pedestrian bridge. Since then, images of the Macron couple have spread like wildfire and sparked wild speculation. Crisis or stupidity? Is the couple in a relationship crisis? Initially, the Élysée Palace tried to discredit the images as "artificial."
It's a shame the video was recorded by the AP news agency and not generated by artificial intelligence, as originally suggested. Meanwhile, the incident has been officially confirmed, but the interpretation is completely different. A close confidant of the president spoke of a mocking "quarrel" between a couple. "It was a moment when the president and his wife let off steam one last time before the start of the trip and poked fun at each other," the Macrons' entourage finally explained to reporters following the scene on Monday.
It was a "harmless and playful moment" between the presidential couple, according to the French president's office, as reported by the newspaper "Libération." The gesture had been taken out of context. The Elysée Palace emphasizes that the indications of violence or dispute are entirely unfounded. "It's a moment when the president and his wife interacted jokingly before the start of the trip, a moment of familiarity," said another advisor.
"Apparently, nothing more was needed to give conspiracy theorists new fodder. Russia Today and its friends, of course, pounced on it immediately." The relationship between Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron is "stronger than ever." The French president began a week-long trip to Southeast Asia in Hanoi.
