A slap or a love tap? Why a private moment for France's first couple is public fodder
PARIS—What happens in Vietnam does not stay in Vietnam, as French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, learned Monday morning.
France's most talked-about couple were caught in the act when the door to his presidential airplane opened just as Macron appears to have been roughed up by his wife.
Just what that act was is the subject of debate.
Some media reported it as a slap, while others described it as a shove. In jest or in anger, the 47-year-old politician clearly took it on the chin from his 72-year-old spouse. And it has been followed by a digital pile on from social media users, who are now accusing Macron and his aides of intentionally lying about what occurred.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
They were just 'playfighting.' That was French President Emmanuel Macron's explanation Monday for video images that showed show his wife, Brigitte, pushing her husband away with both hands on his face before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of southeast Asia this weekend. (AP Video / May 26, 2025)
The uncomfortable moment adds another page to the tales of intrigue that all-too-often envelope France's most powerful politicians. Macron, whose second presidential term ends in 2027 is far from being the first leader whose private life has made public ripples.
Reporters accompanying him on an Asian tour reported that an aide had described what the cameras witnessed as the result of a 'squabble' and 'tussle' between the couple.
Macron later said that he was simply kidding around with his spouse.
'Everyone should calm down and worry about what's really going on in the world,' he told reporters in Hanoi Monday.
He added that internet-conspiracy theorists in recent weeks have taken too many liberties with the truth. In one instance, a video that showed him snatching a used tissue paper off of a table following a meeting with the president of Germany and the British prime minister provoked rumours that the item in question was not a Kleenex but a bag of cocaine.
But Macron's behaviour in the moments after Monday's caught-on-camera exchange upon arrival in Vietnam suggests something more than the exchange of a love tap.
From the door of the airplane, the polished-in-public leader waved quickly and awkwardly to the press and dignitaries waiting on the tarmac down below. A few moments later, he was joined by his wife, who ignored his offer of an escort down the stairs.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
It was a private moment that will surely give fresh breath to the chatter about France's most famous May-December marriage.
Macron was just 17 years old when he fell for his then-teacher, who was married with three children. He recounted the beginnings of their relationship in his book 'Revolution', which was released ahead of his ascension to the French presidency in 2017.
He described it as an intellectual union that led them to a complicated and transgressive romance.
'The real courage came from her. She had three children and a husband. I was nothing more than a student. She didn't love me for what I had, for the comfort and security I brought her. She gave all of that up for me,' he wrote.
The relationship was put on hold while Macron moved to Paris to study, but their emotions for one another survived the time and distance apart. They married in 2007.
Macron was elected to a five-year term as president in 2017. He was re-elected in 2022.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
French presidents have a long history of having their private lives going public.
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy divorced shortly after he was elected president in 2007. His wife left him for another man and moved to the United States.
A few months later, in February 2008, Sarkozy married the French-Italian model and singer Carla Bruni after a highly publicized whirlwind romance.
In 2014, the socialist François Hollande was caught by a paparazzi photographer slipping away from his presidential palace incognito on a scooter with a helmet to meet his lover, the French actress Julie Gayet.
And Jacques Chirac betrayed his wife of six decades, Bernadette, on numerous occasions, including a 10-year relationship he started with a young journalist who reported on him when he was mayor of Paris, a relationship that ended abruptly when Chirac was elected president.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
27 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Israel says 3 soldiers killed in Gaza in deadliest attack on its forces since a truce ended in March
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military said Tuesday that three of its soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip, in what appeared to be the deadliest attack on Israel's forces since it ended a ceasefire with Hamas in March. The military said the three soldiers, all in their early 20s, fell during combat in northern Gaza on Monday, without providing details. Israeli media reported that they were killed in an explosion in the Jabaliya area.
Winnipeg Free Press
33 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel says 3 soldiers killed in Gaza in deadliest attack on its forces since a truce ended in March
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military said Tuesday that three of its soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip, in what appeared to be the deadliest attack on Israel's forces since it ended a ceasefire with Hamas in March. The military said the three soldiers, all in their early 20s, fell during combat in northern Gaza on Monday, without providing details. Israeli media reported that they were killed in an explosion in the Jabaliya area. Israel ended the ceasefire in March after Hamas refused to change the agreement to release more hostages sooner. Israeli strikes have killed thousands of Palestinians since then, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel that ignited the war. They are still holding 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. Around 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the Oct. 7 attack, including more than 400 during the fighting inside Gaza. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Suspect planned to kill all in group he called ‘Zionist,' but appeared to have second thoughts
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A man in Boulder disguised as a gardener who wounded 12 people in an attack on a group holding their weekly demonstration for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza had planned to kill them all but appeared to have second thoughts, according to authorities. Mohamed Sabry Soliman had 18 Molotov cocktails but threw just two during Sunday's attack in which he yelled 'Free Palestine,' police said. He didn't carry out his full plan 'because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,' police wrote in an affidavit. The two incendiary devices he did throw into the group of about 20 people were enough to wound more than half of them, and authorities said he expressed no regrets about the attack. The 45-year-old Soliman — whose first name also was spelled Mohammed in some court documents — planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a 'Zionist group,' authorities said in court papers charging him with a federal hate crime. 'When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die, he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again,' Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado said during a news conference Monday. Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman, charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder, respectively. He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices, and more charges are possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment. Soliman is being held on a $10 million, cash-only bond, prosecutors said. His next court hearing is set for Thursday. An FBI affidavit says Soliman told the police he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people,' a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. Soliman's attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after the hearing. Soliman was living in the U.S. illegally after entering the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on the social platform X. The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, which continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened on the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled 'Free Palestine' was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington. Six victims hospitalized The victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88, and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organizer connected to the group. She said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalized caught on fire. Members of the volunteer group called Run For Their Lives were holding their weekly demonstration when the attack happened. Video from the scene captured by witness Alex Osante of San Diego shows people pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Osante said had caught fire during the attack. Molotov cocktails found Osante said that after the suspect threw the two incendiary devices, apparently catching himself on fire as he threw the second, he took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before police arrived. The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video Osante filmed. The Molotov cocktails were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the them, the FBI said. 'He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack,' the affidavit says. He had gas in a backpack sprayer but told investigators he didn't spray it on anyone but himself 'because he had planned on dying.' Soliman also told investigators he took a concealed carry class and tried to buy a gun but was denied because he is not a legal U.S. citizen. Suspect hospitalized after attack Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. He was also injured and taken to a hospital. Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, but a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear. Soliman, who was born in Egypt, moved three years ago to Colorado Springs, where he lived with his wife and five kids, according to state court documents. He previously spent 17 years living in Kuwait. McLaughlin said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023 that had expired. DHS did not respond to requests for additional information. ___ Tucker reported from Washington.
