Footage captured on Sunday evening at Hanoi airport show the plane’s doors opened to reveal Macron stood inside the aircraft, facing his wife with a stern look. The video purportedly shows after the aeroplane doors open, Macron appeared to speak to his wife, who was standing near the cockpit entrance. Suddenly, his wife Brigitte’s hand reached out and appeared to smack the French president’s mouth, the video shows.
The French leader appeared shock and when he noticed that the doors of the airplane were open, he quickly turned to wave at the sea of cameras at the bottom of the plane steps. The couple then come out together from the aircraft and walk down the staircase, with Macron extending his arm to his wife.
‘Moment of closeness’
A source close to Macron told Express US that it a “harmless scuffle” and blamed the negative reaction on “pro-Russian circles.” An official from the Macron team said: “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. It was a moment of closeness.”
Another source working closely with the couple told Metro: “It was a moment for the President and his wife to unwind one last time before the start of the trip by having a little fun. It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists.” (sic)
Macron was just 15 when he began a relationship with the then-married mother-of-three Brigitte, who was 40 at the time, and teaching drama at La Providence high school in Amiens, northern France. Macron will stay in Vietnam for a few days, hoping to sign multiple deals to increase French influence in the former colony.
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French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly been the subject of conspiracy theories and deepfakes.
In the past, he was forced to deny “false and fabricated” rumors suggesting his wife was born a man, condemning the claims as a misogynistic form of online abuse directed at women.
More recently, Macron criticized a fabricated Russian claim that a bag of cocaine was visible in a photo taken while he was en route to Kyiv with UK Labour leader Keir Starmer and Germany’s Friedrich Merz.
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The cocaine conspiracy theory was initiated by pro-Russian social media accounts and quickly gained traction online. One account on X (formerly Twitter) claimed:
“Macron, Starmer, and Merz caught on video on their return from Kiev. A bag of white powder on the table. Macron quickly pockets it, Merz hides the spoon. No explanation given.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also fanned the flames. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova shared the claim on Telegram, writing that “a Frenchman, an Englishman, and a German” were seen with drug paraphernalia aboard a train.
She wrote: “The fate of Europe is being decided by utterly (drug) dependent individuals.
“It’s as if the Almighty Himself is lifting the veil on this putrid spectacle.”
