'Just Joking': Macron Denies Dispute With Wife, Blames Disinformation
French President Emmanuel Macron denied Monday having a domestic dispute with his wife Brigitte after a video appeared to show her shoving his face away when they touched down for a visit to Vietnam, blaming disinformation campaigns for trying to put false meaning on the footage.
The Elysee had been hoping that the visit to Vietnam would showcase France's reach into the Indo-Pacific, but it has been shadowed by the incident which occurred as the doors of the presidential plane swung open after landing in Hanoi Sunday.
This is the third time this month that Macron has been the subject of viral video footage at a time when France says it is being targeted by repeated disinformation attacks as Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine.
It was falsely claimed Macron took cocaine on a trip to Kyiv alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and images also emerged purporting to show Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dominate the French leader in a handshake.
Brigitte sticks out both her hands and gives her husband's face a shove, according to footage shot by the Associated Press news agency.
The French president appears startled but quickly recovers and turns to wave through the open door. But with most of her body hidden by the aircraft, it is impossible to see his wife's facial expression or body language.
"My wife and I were squabbling, we were rather joking, and I was taken by surprise," he said.
Now it's "become a kind of planetary catastrophe, and some are even coming up with theories," Macron told reporters.
Macron testily referred to the other incidents, including the images shot on a train to Kyiv where some accounts falsely claimed he shared cocaine with Merz and Starmer.
But the object Macron removed from the table when the media entered was a tissue.
Erdogan, meanwhile, was filmed holding the president's finger at a summit.
"For three weeks... there are people who have watched videos and think I shared a bag of cocaine, that I had a fight with the Turkish president, and that now I'm having a domestic dispute with my wife," said Macron.
"None of these are true," he said.
"Everyone needs to calm down," he added.
After the incident in Hanoi, the couple proceeded down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron did not take her husband's arm when he offered it.
The video circulated rapidly online, promoted particularly by accounts that are habitually hostile to the French leader.
Macron's office initially denied the authenticity of the images, before they were confirmed as genuine. A close associate of the president later described the incident as a couple's harmless "squabble".
Referring to the past incidents, Macron said: "In these three videos I took a tissue, shook someone's hand and just joked with my wife, as we do quite often. Nothing more."
"We have loads of accounts, anonymous or not, whose frustrations are going to their heads, including news commentators who said this morning that I have the diplomacy of a beaten man," he added.
He emphasised that all three videos were "completely authentic" but the meanings attached to them were not.
Vietnam is the first stop on Macron's almost week-long tour of Southeast Asia where he will pitch France as a reliable alternative to the United States and China.
He will also visit Indonesia and Singapore.
The relationship between Macron, 47, and his 72-year-old wife has long been a subject of fascination at home and abroad.
She was a drama teacher and he a pupil when they met at a private school in their hometown of Amiens in northeast France. A mother of three children, Brigitte divorced her husband and began a relationship with Macron while he was in his late teens.
A high-profile first lady, she has taken legal action to counter false claims on social media about her gender. The incident took place just before the couple emerged from the plane AFP Macron had an air of exasperation AFP Grim day: France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at a wreath-laying ceremony in Hanoi Monday AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
4 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Urges Iran To Talk As G7 Looks For Common Ground
US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Iran, which Israel is pounding, to re-enter negotiations "before it's too late" as Group of Seven leaders considered a joint call for de-escalation. Host Canada had designed the summit in the Rockies resort of Kananaskis to paper over differences within the bloc of major industrial democracies, as Trump returns to the global stage in his norm-shattering second term. But two days before the summit, Israel launched a surprise, massive military attack on Iran, which had been in negotiations with the Trump administration over the cleric-run state's contested nuclear program. Trump, who has praised Israel's strikes despite his stated preference for diplomacy, said he believed a negotiated settlement remained "achievable." "It's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late," Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Israel has struck major nuclear and military sites and killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel. Canada and European leaders have looked to draft a statement on the crisis, although it looks set to stop short of demanding a ceasefire. Leaders will discuss the statement Monday evening, a diplomat said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that G7 leaders share concern about Iran's nuclear program but there is "absolutely a focus on how we de-escalate this and that will be a central focus as we go into the talks." "I do think there's a consensus for de-escalation," Starmer told reporters. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that a text being put forward by the Europeans would put the onus on Iran. "We'll highlight again that Iran must never possess material that would allow it to produce nuclear weapons," Merz said. "We'll highlight the legitimate right of the state of Israel to defend itself and we will also discuss potential additional measures to reach a diplomatic solution," he said. Unusually, Japan -- which has historic relations with Iran and limited domestic pressure on the Middle East -- has broken with its Western allies and is the only G7 nation that has criticized Israel. Israel's strikes while diplomacy was ongoing were "completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable," Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. Iran, since Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not at levels to create a number bomb. Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge them publicly. The summit at a wooded resort under still snow-topped mountains comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Trump's return. Trump, seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until July 9. Trump has also mocked host Canada, imposing economic pressure and repeatedly stating that the vast but less populated neighbor should become the 51st US state. Trump said he was optimistic about reaching a solution on trade as he met Carney, a staid former central banker who has appeared to win more respect from the US leader since succeeding the flashier Justin Trudeau in March. "I'm a tariff person," Trump told Carney. "It's simple, it's easy, it's precise, and it just goes very quickly." "I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to join the G7 talks on Tuesday and to speak to Trump, who had initially tried to force him into a deal with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022. Trump has since voiced frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire. The US president has previously mused about readmitting Russia to the G8, from which it was expelled in 2014 after invading and annexing Ukraine's region of Crimea, triggering a war which accelerated in 2022 with a full-scale Russian invasion. Trump said Monday that Putin was "very insulted" by the G8 expulsion and that if Russia were still a member, "you wouldn't have a war right now." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz gives a statement during the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Canada AFP
DW
7 hours ago
- DW
Israel says weapons exhibits blocked off at Paris Air Show – DW – 06/16/2025
The Israeli Defense Ministry posted pictures of defense industry stands covered by black partition walls. The ministry slammed the move as "outrageous and unprecedented." Israeli defense industry exhibitions have been covered in black partition walls at the prestigious Paris Air Show, after reportedly failing to comply with a directive to remove offensive weapons from being displayed. Israel's Defense Ministry posted up a statement on social media along with pictures, showing Israeli defense company stands sealed off with black walls, preventing anyone from seeing what lay behind the walls. Rafael, Elbit and IAI produce guided bombs and missiles, while Uvision and Aeronautics produce drones. Pictures posted up along with a statement by the Defense Ministry showed various weapons systems on display. Israel accuses France of 'ugly and improper' behaviour The incident comes as Israel trades deadly airstrikes with Iran and almost two years into its campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. "The French are hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition — weapons that compete with French industries," the ministry said in a statement Monday, calling the action "ugly and improper." The Reuters news agency cited a source familiar with the matter as saying the instruction to seal off the exhibits came from French authorities after Israeli firms failed to comply with a directive from a French security agency to remove offensive or kinetic weapons from the stands. Israel's Defense Ministry said its director general, Amir Baram, had rejected the request. In a statement, the ministry called the move an "unprecedented decision, that gives off the scent of political and commercial considerations." Israeli firms reportedly failed to comply with a directive from a French security agency to remove offensive or kinetic weapons from the stands Image: Michael Euler/AP Photo/picture alliance Sylvain Pavillet, a lawyer working with the air show organizers, said the final decision on who is allowed to exhibit lies with the French government, not the show itself. "The fair is not the one who decides which countries are allowed to go to the show or not," he told the Associated Press. "That decision belongs to the government. We are not a state. We are a commercial company." Organizers still seeking 'favourable outcome' While there has been no immediate comment from the French government regarding any move to block Israeli exhibitions, the air show's organiser said in a statement that it was in talks to try to help "the various parties find a favourable outcome to the situation." Friday saw a French appeals court rule against activists who had been seeking to block Israeli companies from participation at the show due to the ongoing war in Gaza. In recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that a tougher position against Israel may be needed in light of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Macron at the time warned that France would even consider sanctioning Israeli settlers. Edited by:
Local Germany
7 hours ago
- Local Germany
German army struggles for fresh recruits as conscription threat grows
The main event took place Sunday next to the parliament in Berlin, with the armed forces, known as the Bundeswehr, setting up booths, as well as a free outdoor concert, food trucks and games for children. Due to pacifist traditions stemming from its dark World War II history, Germany has generally been reluctant to honour the military so publicly. But attitudes are changing since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, prompting Berlin to launch a drive to overhaul its long-neglected armed forces. Doubts about US commitment to Europe's security under President Donald Trump are also adding impetus to the efforts. Nowadays there is "more encouragement for us soldiers" from the public, Maik Mutschke, a 39-year-old former soldier who was severely injured in Afghanistan in 2010, told AFP at the event. "Twenty years ago, wearing a uniform was frowned upon," said Jens Ruths, who lost the use of a leg after stepping on a mine in Kosovo in 1999. But now, "taxi drivers and people we meet on the street thank us more than before," said the 47-year-old. Modelled after the American tradition, the first ever German "Veterans Day" was dedicated to active-duty soldiers as well as true veterans, with some 130 events held nationwide. Advertisement Regional daily the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger, based in the western city of Cologne, said the event would "usher in a new era" as Germany "discovers its army". This sentiment was echoed at the Berlin event, where Petra Muhl, a 46-year-old former soldier, said Germans were increasingly worried that "war is getting closer", following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "People naturally realise they need an army," said Muhl. 'Struggling to recruit' Former chancellor Olaf Scholz began the military overhaul by announcing more funds for the armed forces, which had shrunk substantially since the end of the Cold War and German reunification. New Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office in May, has gone further by largely exempting defence spending from Germany's strict debt rules, and pledging to build up "the strongest conventional army in Europe". Advertisement But the Bundeswehr -- which has a target of boosting the number of its soldiers from 181,000 currently to 203,000 by 2031 -- is struggling to recruit. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has upped the ante even more, saying the army will require up to 60,000 additional troops under new NATO requirements due to the Russian threat. It is hoped that events like "Veterans Day" can "motivate people... to become reservists or enlist as soldiers", said Anna-Maria Jeremic, a 21-year-old reservist. But some fear such efforts will not be enough, and calls are growing for a return of conscription, which was officially suspended in 2011. Economic daily Handelsblatt recently reported that a draft law is being prepared to reinstate conscription if recruitment targets are not met. Pistorius has not confirmed this, but did suggest in parliament last month that the recruitment drive may not remain voluntary. The government was hoping to create a "military service that is initially based on voluntary participation and is intended to encourage young people to serve their country", he said. "And I say quite deliberately and honestly, the emphasis is on 'initially' in case we cannot recruit enough volunteers."
