Macron’s office minimizes plane dispute with wife, calls it harmless

The office of French President Emmanuel Macron downplayed an incident captured as he arrived in Vietnam to start a Southeast Asian tour, where his wife appeared to push his face away.

Video footage taken by the Associated Press in Hanoi on Sunday evening shows the moment Macron’s plane door opened, revealing the president.

From the left side of the doorway, his wife Brigitte reached out, placing both hands on his face and gently pushing it away.

Macron looked surprised but quickly composed himself and waved through the open door.

Brigitte remained out of full view behind the aircraft, leaving her facial expression and body language unclear.

The couple then descended the stairs to receive the official welcome from Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron declined to take her husband’s offered arm.

The video quickly spread across social media, especially through accounts frequently critical of the French president.

Macron’s office first denied the footage’s authenticity but later confirmed it was genuine.

A close aide to the president later dismissed the incident as a harmless "squabble" between the couple.

Another member of Macron’s team minimized the incident’s importance.

"It was simply a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing and joking around before the trip began," the source told reporters.

"It was a moment of closeness, nothing more no reason to fuel conspiracy theories," the source added, blaming pro-Russian accounts for spreading negative narratives about the episode.

Vietnam marks the first stop on Macron’s nearly week-long Southeast Asia tour, where he aims to position France as a dependable alternative to both the United States and China.

His itinerary also includes visits to Indonesia and Singapore.