French President Emmanuel Macron got pushed in the face by wife Brigitte in viral moment
A viral video captured French President Emmanuel Macron being playfully pushed in the face by his wife, Brigitte Macron, during their arrival in Vietnam, sparking widespread attention and official comments downplaying the moment.
A video showing French President Emmanuel Macron being pushed in the face by his wife, Brigitte Macron, has gone viral. The video was filmed during their arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam, where the couple was starting a tour across Southeast Asia.
Some viewers were surprised by the moment, but officials quickly described it as a bit of sweetness between the two. Macron later explained it was just a playful banter, and downplayed speculation about the incident.
Brigitte Macron pushes Emmanuel Macron in the face
A video circulating online shows French President Emmanuel Macron getting shoved in the face by his wife, First Lady Brigitte Macron.
The incident occurred on Sunday, May 25, as the couple landed in Hanoi, Vietnam, to begin a Southeast Asia tour. Reuters reported that Emmanuel, 47, was stepping down from the presidential plane when a hand reached out and shoved him in the face.
Brigitte, 72, appeared beside him, both dressed in red outfits, as is shown in the video uploaded by various media outlets including the BBC.
Macron did not appear to recover from the shove very quickly, though he did regain himself and walk down the steps together with his wife.
According to French news outlet Le Figaro, the Élysée Palace initially denied the video was real and later downgraded the incident.
A palace official 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," per Reuters.
"It was a moment of closeness," the official added, according to the news agency.
Emmanuel Macron insisted that the couple were "just joking about, as we do," per the BBC. "We are bickering and joking with my wife, and a video becomes a sort of geoplanetary catastrophe," Macron told reporters on Monday, according to ABC News. "In the world we live in, we don't have a lot of time to lose" on discussing such topics, he added.
The Macron marriage: Questioned by the age difference
The Macron marriage has attracted attention due to the considerable 24-year age gap. In a 2023 interview with Paris Match, Brigitte explained that their relationship was difficult to begin with because she was a 39-year-old drama teacher and Emmanuel was just 15 when he first had feelings for her.
"For me," she said as The Independent translated, "such a young boy was crippling."
Emmanuel's parents initially believed he was involved with Brigitte's daughter, before the truth emerged. The first thing they did was send Macron away to boarding school in Paris.
"Emmanuel had to leave for Paris," Brigitte previously recalled, "I told myself that he would fall in love with someone his [own] age. It didn't happen."
They kept in touch, but she also tried to hold back as much as possible for her own children's sake, as they were similarly aged to Emmanuel.
"That lasted 10 years, the time to put them on the rails. You can imagine what they were hearing," she said. "But I didn't want to miss out on my life."
Emmanuel Macron became president of France in 2017, around 10 years after he and Brigitte tied the knot.
