Latest news with #PresidentMacron
Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Watch: Macron mocks ‘slap' by wife with cheeky wave
Facing a whirlwind of rumours after a video captured what was later dubbed Le Slapgate, the Macrons have seemingly responded with a moment of self-deprecation. Just before leaving the presidential plane, this time arriving in Indonesia, President Macron gave an ironic wave on Tuesday night — in what appeared to be a response to the 'crackpots' and 'loonies' who claimed that he had been shoved in the face by his wife. As the plane door opens, only his hand can be seen waving, before he appears in front of the cameras in Jakarta laughing. He is then joined by his smiling wife Brigitte, who takes Macron's arm, and they walk down the steps arm in arm. A presidential spin doctor said the wave was intended as a gesture of 'self-derision', although France Info radio station said it could be considered to be 'provocation'. The gesture came after the first lady pushed her hands into her husband's face as they prepared to leave the French presidential aeroplane in Vietnam on the first leg of their Asian tour this week. Her push, caught by television cameras, ignited speculation that the couple were in the midst of a row when the aeroplane door opened. As they walked down the steps from the plane in Vietnam, the first lady appeared to refuse to take her husband's arm. The Elysée initially claimed the video was a fake before accepting that it was genuine, but saying that it had been misinterpreted. Speaking to reporters in Hanoi, Macron angrily dismissed claims he had been filmed in the midst of domestic spat. He said he and his wife had been 'larking around, or joking and I was taken by surprise. And it has become some kind of planetary catastrophe.' He said the theories were being spread by malicious Russian social media accounts, which had also promoted fake reports that he had been caught with cocaine and engaged in a trial of strength during a handshake with President Erdogan of Turkey in recent weeks. Macron said there were 'a lot of accounts, anonymous or not … including media commentators who have explained that I am undertaking the diplomacy of a beaten man. That tells you what crackpots they are.' He added: 'There are a lot of loonies who spend their days … interpreting these videos.' His arrival in Indonesia seemed designed to underline his point.
Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Watch: Macron ‘slapped by wife Brigitte' on Vietnam state visit
A brisk gesture by Brigitte Macron towards the face of her husband has set off claims of strife between the French presidential couple, which officials promptly dismissed as online mischief-making. The supposed slapping of President Macron, which was captured in news footage of the leader's arrival for a state visit to Vietnam, prompted a social media flurry. It was quickly circulated by RT and other Kremlin-controlled news sites that France has accused of waging hostile propaganda against the president. The video, from the AP news agency, starts as the door of the presidential plane opens at Hanoi airport on Sunday. Mrs Macron's hand, identifiable by her red jacket, is seen pushing or striking her husband's face. He appears startled. The couple walk down the steps for the official welcome and Mrs Macron appears to ignore her husband's offer of his arm as they descend. Macron dismissed the fuss over the video as 'a lot of nonsense', saying: 'My wife and I were horsing around, having a joke, and I was surprised by that and that becomes a sort of geopolitical disaster. 'It's nonsense. People read all kinds of stupidity into things,' he said, and compared the interpretation to a claim made this month that a video showed that he and the leaders of the UK and Germany had snorted cocaine. French officials initially rejected the video as probable 'fake news'. When it was verified, presidential aides said Mrs Macron's half-glimpsed gesture was part of the normal chamaillerie, meaning playful horsing around. 'It was a moment when the president and his wife were unwinding one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh,' an aide said. 'It was a moment of complicity. That was all it took to give conspiracy theorists more fodder.' Another member of the presidential party told media: 'There was obviously absolutely no violent gesture … to say otherwise based on a very partial, out-of-context image is dishonest and shows little knowledge of the couple.' The Élysée was nevertheless on the defensive after an initial error in attributing the video to a malicious use of artificial intelligence, commentators said. The denials did nothing to quell mockery and critical commentary on social media. 'Mrs Macron has done what all of France wants to do,' said one milder post. Many posts played up caricatures of the 25-year age gap between the 47-year-old president and the 72-year-old première dame, who was a teacher at his school. Since 2017, the French government has accused the Russian media and intelligence services of targeting Macron and his wife in a drive to destabilise France. It has named a unit of the GRU military intelligence service as the source of the 'cyberoffensive' against the couple. This month, France accused Russian agents of targeting Mrs Macron after a video, generated by artificial intelligence, appears to show a former pupil accusing her of sexually assaulting him when he was 12. Moscow has denied any involvement. Also this month, Paris accused Moscow of circulating a false claim that Macron had sniffed cocaine along with Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, while on a train to Ukraine with Sir Keir Starmer. The French language service of RT, the Kremlin's international news outlet, headlined its latest story: 'A slap in Vietnam? The controversy surrounding Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron is causing a stir.' It said: 'This controversy is illustrating once again the difficulty that the Élysée Palace has with controlling the image of the president in the age of social media.' Macron's visit to Vietnam, a former French colony, is his first since taking office in 2017. It is part of a southeast Asia tour that will also include visits to Indonesia and Singapore.
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Macron says he and first lady ‘horsing around' in viral video of her pushing him
French first lady Brigitte Macron appeared to push her husband away with both hands on his face just before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of Southeast Asia this weekend. President Emmanuel Macron dismissed the gesture — caught on camera — as just horseplay, but it caused a stir back home. French media on Monday tried to decipher the interaction that cameras spotted through the just-opened door of the plane. The headline of a story on the website of the daily Le Parisien newspaper asked: 'Slap or 'squabble'? The images of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron disembarking in Vietnam trigger a lot of comment.' Macron later told reporters that the couple — married since 2007 after meeting at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher — were simply joking around. 'We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife,' he said, adding that the incident was being overblown: 'It becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.' His office earlier offered a similar explanation. 'It was a moment where the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by horsing around. It's a moment of complicity. It was all that was needed to give ammunition to the conspiracy theorists," his office said. The video — taken as the Macrons arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday — showed a uniformed man pulling open the plane door and revealing the president standing inside, dressed in a suit and talking to someone who wasn't visible. Two arms — in red sleeves — reached out and pushed Macron away, with one hand covering his mouth and part of his nose while the other was on his jawbone. The French leader recoiled, turning his head away. Then, apparently realizing that he was on camera, he broke into a smile and gave a little wave. In subsequent images, Macron and his wife, wearing a red jacket, appeared at the top of the stairs. He offered an arm but she didn't take it. They walked down the carpeted stairs side by side. Brigitte Macron was Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three children, when they met at his high school. A teacher, she supervised the drama club where Emmanuel Macron, a literature lover, was a member. He moved to Paris for his last year of high school, but promised to marry Brigitte. She later moved to the French capital to join him and divorced before they finally married.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Macron says he and wife were horsing around when she appears to push the French leader
PARIS (AP) — French first lady Brigitte Macron appeared to push her husband away with both hands on his face just before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of Southeast Asia this weekend. President Emmanuel Macron dismissed the gesture — caught on camera — as just horseplay, but it caused a stir back home. French media on Monday tried to decipher the interaction that cameras spotted through the just-opened door of the plane. The headline of a story on the website of the daily Le Parisien newspaper asked: 'Slap or 'squabble'? The images of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron disembarking in Vietnam trigger a lot of comment.' Macron later told reporters that the couple — married since 2007 after meeting at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher — were simply joking around. 'We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife,' he said, adding that the incident was being overblown: 'It becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.' His office earlier offered a similar explanation. 'It was a moment where the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by horsing around. It's a moment of complicity. It was all that was needed to give ammunition to the conspiracy theorists,' his office said. The video — taken as the Macrons arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday — showed a uniformed man pulling open the plane door and revealing the president standing inside, dressed in a suit and talking to someone who wasn't visible. Two arms — in red sleeves — reached out and pushed Macron away, with one hand covering his mouth and part of his nose while the other was on his jawbone. The French leader recoiled, turning his head away. Then, apparently realizing that he was on camera, he broke into a smile and gave a little wave. In subsequent images, Macron and his wife, wearing a red jacket, appeared at the top of the stairs. He offered an arm but she didn't take it. They walked down the carpeted stairs side by side. Brigitte Macron was Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three children, when they met at his high school. A teacher, she supervised the drama club where Emmanuel Macron, a literature lover, was a member. He moved to Paris for his last year of high school, but promised to marry Brigitte. She later moved to the French capital to join him and divorced before they finally married.
