Emmanuel Macron appears to be struck in face by wife in bizarre video
The French president is attempting to dispel rumours of a potential domestic dispute with his wife after she appeared to hit him in the face before beginning their tour of Southeast Asia.
In a viral clip posted online, French President Emmanuel Macron was seen being shoved in the face by his wife, Brigitte, prior to disembarking a plane in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday.
The video shows Macron standing in the doorway of the plane before Brigitte's hands suddenly enter the frame and strike the French president in the face, appearing to startle him.
Realizing that he's being filmed, Macron quickly regains his composure and smiles to the cameras in an apparent effort to deescalate the situation.
As Macron and his wife begin to walk down the steps of the plane later in the clip, the French president appears to offer Brigitte his arm, which she denies and holds on to the railing instead.
Macron is in Vietnam as part of a Southeast Asia tour to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties, sign major trade agreements, and promote France’s role in the Indo-Pacific region amid China's growing influence.
The incident has sparked a flurry of reactions online, with many suspecting Macron's relationship with his wife could be in turmoil.
#TeamBrigitte https://t.co/Q5kl64uViN
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) May 26, 2025
Macron addressed the video while speaking to reporters in Hanoi on Monday, dismissing allegations of a violent domestic dispute.
“There’s a video showing me joking and teasing my wife and somehow that becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe, with people even coming up with theories to explain it,” he said, as reported by CNN.
"We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife," Macron added, noting that the videos are genuine "but people are attributing all kinds of nonsense to them.”
The office of the French president also claimed that Macron and his wife were simply "decompressing" and "horsing around." His office added that the incident "was all that was needed to give ammunition to the conspiracy theorists."
Macron's relationship with his wife has faced scrutiny over the couple's 25-year age gap and the fact that Brigitte first met Emmanuel when he was a student and she was a teacher at his high school.
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