French President Emmanuel Macron is shrugging off a viral video that appeared to show his wife, Brigitte Macron, shoving him in the face as the pair arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, for an official visit on Sunday, May 25.
The moment, captured just as Macron appeared in the doorway of his aircraft, quickly gained traction online. In the clip, a hand—belonging to someone in a red jacket—is seen pushing Macron’s face from the right side. Moments later, Brigitte Macron, dressed in red, steps into view, and the couple descends the aircraft stairs together.
While some online speculated that the push was more than playful, the president dismissed any suggestion of tension between him and the First Lady. “We are bickering and joking with my wife, and a video becomes a sort of geoplanetary catastrophe,” Macron told reporters on Monday. “In the world we live in, we don’t have a lot of time to lose” on such matters, he added.
Speaking on France’s BFMTV, Macron further brushed aside the speculation, firmly denying any kind of altercation. “This is all a bit of nonsense,” he said. “There was no ‘domestic scene.’”
The video, originally aired by Reuters, sparked debate across social media, with some users criticizing the moment as inappropriate and others defending it as a harmless private exchange caught in a very public setting. Macron, however, made it clear he has no intention of fueling the speculation further.
Brigitte Macron, who has been a prominent presence alongside her husband during his presidency, has not commented publicly on the video. The couple has long presented a united front in both political and personal spheres, often appearing together at official functions and during international trips.
The viral moment came just as Macron touched down in Hanoi, kicking off a multi-country tour of Southeast Asia. His itinerary includes key visits to Indonesia and Singapore, with a focus on strengthening economic ties and deepening France’s role in regional affairs.
Despite the unexpected attention on his personal life, Macron’s trip to Vietnam is centered on strategic partnerships and diplomacy. France and Vietnam share a complex colonial history but have maintained close ties in recent decades, especially through trade, education, and cultural exchange.
On Monday, Macron and Brigitte were photographed at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, smiling and standing side by side as they posed for official pictures. The French president is expected to meet with Vietnamese leaders to discuss a range of issues, including economic cooperation, climate change, and maritime security in the South China Sea.
This isn’t the first time Macron has had to navigate headlines related to his personal life. His relationship with Brigitte, who is 24 years his senior and was once his high school teacher, has often drawn media curiosity, though the couple has remained largely unfazed by public scrutiny.
For now, Macron seems more focused on diplomacy than defending viral video clips. As his Southeast Asia tour continues, his administration is likely hoping to shift attention back to policy and away from personal moments caught on camera.
In the age of smartphones and social media, even fleeting expressions between public figures can become headline news. But Macron’s lighthearted dismissal of the incident shows he’s unwilling to let a brief moment overshadow a broader diplomatic mission. As he put it plainly, “We don’t have a lot of time to lose.”