French President Emmanuel Macron Pushed in Face by Wife Brigitte in Viral Moment Caught on Video
French President Emmanuel Macron was pushed in the face by his wife, first lady Brigitte, in a clip that's been circulating online
The Élysée Palace has downplayed the incident on Sunday, May 25, insisting it "was a moment of closeness" between the couple, Reuters reported, citing an official
The incident occurred as the pair, who married in 2007, touched down in Hanoi, Vietnam, at the start of a Southeast Asia tourFrench President Emmanuel Macron was pushed in the face by his wife, first lady Brigitte Macron, in a video that's been circulating online.
On Sunday, May 25, the couple arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, at the start of a Southeast Asia tour, when Emmanuel was pictured exiting the presidential plane, Reuters reported.
A hand was then seen reaching out and pushing Emmanuel, 47, in the face, before Brigitte, 72, appeared alongside her husband, wearing a red outfit. The person who pushed the president was also wearing red, as seen in the clip, which was shared by outlets including the BBC.
Despite the politician initially appearing a little surprised by the push, it didn't take long for him to compose himself. The couple, who have been married since 2007, then walked down the plane's steps together.
The Élysée Palace initially denied the accuracy of the images, per French outlet Le Figaro. However, they have since downplayed 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 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.
An Élysée Palace spokesperson didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.
The Macrons' marriage had a controversial start, as Brigitte previously told Paris Match in a 2023 interview that entertaining a relationship with her now-husband was initially "crippling" due to their 24-year age gap.
She was a 39-year-old drama teacher at a Catholic school in northern France when Emmanuel, then 15, developed feelings for her.
"For me," she said — as translated by The Independent — "such a young boy was crippling."
While Emmanuel's parents initially suspected he was dating Brigitte's daughter, the truth eventually came out and he was sent off to a boarding school.
"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."
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The two kept in touch, but for a while Brigitte tried to keep some distance between them so as not to "wreck" the lives of her own children, who were close to Emmanuel's age.
"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 became president of France in 2017, around 10 years after he and Brigitte tied the knot.
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
France's president will visit Greenland in a show of EU unity, Danish leader says
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Greenland next weekend, the Danish prime minister's office said Saturday — a visit by a high-profile European Union leader in the wake of U.S. expressions of interest in taking over the mineral-rich Arctic island. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the French leader said they will meet in the semiautonomous Danish territory on June 15, hosted by Greenland's new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The visit by Macron, whose nuclear-armed country has one of the EU's strongest militaries, comes as President Trump hasn't ruled out using force to carry out his desire for the resource-rich and strategically located island to become part of the United States. While the issue of U.S. interest in Greenland has drifted from the headlines in recent weeks, Nielsen said in late April that such comments by U.S. leaders have been disrespectful and that Greenland will never be 'a piece of property' that anyone can buy. In the statement Saturday, Frederiksen acknowledged the 'difficult foreign policy situation in recent months' but praised 'great international support' for Greenland and Denmark. 'President Macron's upcoming visit to Greenland is yet another concrete testament to European unity,' she said, alluding to the membership of France and Denmark in the 27-member-country EU. The three leaders were expected to discuss security in the North Atlantic and the Arctic, as well as issues of economic development, climate change and energy during the visit, her office said.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
France's Macron to visit Greenland
French President Emmanuel Macron is to visit Greenland, his office said Saturday, the first foreign head of state to do so since US President Donald Trump's repeated threats to seize the autonomous Danish territory. Macron's office said he had been invited to visit on June 15 by the territory's prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish leader Mette Frederiksen. The three will hold talks focused on North Atlantic and Arctic security, climate change, the energy transition and the supply of critical minerals, the French presidency said. The visit will contribute to fostering "European sovereignty" and was aiming at "strengthening cooperation" with Greenland, it added. Frederiksen called the visit "a concrete testimony of European unity" in a statement. "It has been uplifting to see the strong international support for Greenland and the Kingdom in the difficult foreign policy situation in recent months," she said. Danish and Greenlandic leaders have insisted that the autonomous territory, where a majority are in favour of independence in the long term, must decide its own future, and have repeatedly said Washington "will never get Greenland". Macron will travel on to Canada after the Greenland visit to participate in a G7 summit. vl/jh/jxb
5 hours ago
France's president will visit Greenland in a show of EU unity, Danish leader says
COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Greenland next weekend, the Danish prime minister's office said Saturday — a visit by a high-profile European Union leader in the wake of U.S. expressions of interest in taking over the mineral-rich Arctic island. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the French leader said they will meet in the semiautonomous Danish territory on June 15, hosted by Greenland's new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The visit by Macron, whose nuclear-armed country has one of the EU's strongest militaries, comes as U.S. President Donald Trump hasn't ruled out using force to carry out his desire for the resource-rich and strategically located island to become part of the United States. While the issue of U.S. interest in Greenland has drifted from the headlines in recent weeks, Nielsen said in late April that such comments by U.S. leaders have been disrespectful and that Greenland will never be 'a piece of property' that anyone can buy. In the statement Saturday, Frederiksen acknowledged the 'difficult foreign policy situation in recent months' but praised 'great international support' for Greenland and Denmark. 'President Macron's upcoming visit to Greenland is yet another concrete testament to European unity,' she said, alluding to the membership of France and Denmark in the 27-member-country EU. The three leaders were expected to discuss security in the North Atlantic and the Arctic, as well as issues of economic development, climate change and energy during the visit, her office said.
