French President Emmanuel Macron allegedly believed that video images on Monday showed his wife Brigitte pushing him away with both hands on Monday, a pro-Russian false propaganda campaign.
"Brigitte's hands #Macron brought to the PR's face at #Hanoï : the Élysée initially denied the veracity of the images, suggesting a video generated by AI and relayed by pro-Russian accounts, before finally authenticating the sequence and evoking a moment of "complicity," a post from the French outlet, Brèves de presse, claimed.
Although Macron's office initially denied the authenticity of the images, the Associated Press later confirmed that they were real.
Emmanuel Macron's wife pushes his face with viral clips when she sees France's first couple arrive in Vietnam
In this video, French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to board and disembark on a plane arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
His office continued to downplay the incident after its first attempt to propose a pro-Russian false propaganda campaign.
"This is the last moment of decompression before the trip begins. It is a moment of complicity. It is everything that conspiracy theorists need to provide ammunition," his office said.
Macron also told reporters that the couple was just kidding.
"We were arguing, but we were joking with my wife," he said, adding that the incident was exaggerated as "a geographical interstellar disaster."
French President Emmanuel Macron Center sets out after meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, February 24, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP)
France's Macron meets Trump at the White House
Video of the incident shows a man in uniform opening the airplane door as he sees Macron wearing a suit and standing at the door. Brigitte Macron's arms - red sleeves - can be seen reaching out and pushing Macron away, one hand covering part of his mouth and nose, and the other hand on his chin. The French president turned his head but suddenly discovered that the news camera captured the moment. He smiled quickly and waved his hand, then left the door frame.
Macron and his wife then disembarked and spacecraft together. The French president provided his arm, although the First Lady (who saw wearing a red blazer) did not catch it.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron disembarked from the plane after arriving at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 25, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)
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The video soon spread, promoted mainly by accounts accused of habitual hostility to French leaders.
"Three weeks...some people watched the video and thought I shared a bag of cocaine, I fought with the Turkish president, and now I have a family dispute with my wife," Macron said. "None of these are true. Everyone needs to calm down."
Danielle Wallace of Fox News Digital contributed to the report.