New Delhi: It was an embarrassing moment for French President Emmanuel Macron.
A video has surfaced showing Macron’s wife Brigitte seemingly slapping him on the face just before the couple was to step off the aircraft in Vietnam. The video, shot by an AP journalist, went viral in next to no time and is among the top three trending topics on X.
The 47-year-old President, whose wife is his former high school teacher and 25 years older than him, arrived in Hanoi on Sunday evening as part of a south-east Asia tour.
The start of the diplomatic mission, however, got overshadowed by the ‘bickering’ between the couple.
The video shows Brigitte, whose face can’t be seen, reaching out towards Macron — who was moving towards the aircraft door – and appearing to push aside his face.
The French President appeared to be briefly startled before regaining his composure and waving to the welcoming delegation.
The couple descended the stairs together moments later, though Brigitte appeared to decline Macron’s offer to take his arm.
Watch the viral video here:
Okay, but did you guys SEE @EmmanuelMacron‘s wife literally push his face like she was swatting a fly? Like she thought she was invisible or something 😂 nd Macron just laughed it off, shaking hands like, ‘No big deal, just got publicly slapped by my wife, move along. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/6A3U51hTLX
— 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐧 ✪ (@jadoon_993) May 26, 2025
Macron’s office attempted to downplay the incident, while a close associate of the President later described it as a “couple’s harmless squabble” while speaking to AFP.
“It was a moment when the President and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around,” another member of the President’s said, describing it as “a moment of togetherness.”
However, the brief but awkward exchange sparked a lot of online comments.
Several social media accounts, including some media outlets, shared the video and called it a “slap” or “smack”.
