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The Sun
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Emmanuel Macron & wife Brigitte put on united front for cameras day after shocking face slap drama
EMMANUEL Macron and his wife Brigitte have put on a united front for the world's cameras a day after the shocking face slap drama. Viral footage that has overshadowed the start of the couple's Southeast Asia tour shows the French leader's wife shoving him in the mouth and jaw after landing in Vietnam. 10 10 Furious Macron attempted to downplay the incident last night by claiming the pair were "squabbling and, rather joking". He added that the unbelievable incident has been overblown into "a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe". The French leader also argued that the clip and viral reaction to it offered a cautionary tale about disinformation in the social media age. Today, Macron and the First Lady were captured arm-in-arm after arriving at Hanoi's University of Science and Technology for the French president to make a speech. The couple pictured together comes a mere few hours after Macron claimed "crackpot" conspiracy theorists were trying to heighten speculation on what their marriage might look like behind closed doors. Footage of the shove was initially denied by Macron's office as being an AI-generated fake - but were forced to retract their statement and admit it was genuine. His office said: "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." The unbelievable moment captured at Hanoi airport showed Macron facing his wife - who is out of the frame - as the plane's doors opened. Despite Brigitte not being visible, her arms are soon seen raising as she shoves a stern-looking Macron in the face. 10 10 10 Appearing shocked, the French leader immediately notices the doors open and quickly turns to wave at the sea of cameras at the bottom of the plane steps. Despite Macron's attempts to defuse claims that they weren't in a heated argument, the couple's body language immediately after the push seems to suggest otherwise. Brigitte and Macron emerge together from the aircraft and walk down the staircase, with the French leader extending his arm to his wife. But she takes hold of the handrail of the walkway for support instead, potentially due to an explosive argument they could have had inside. The French leader has repeatedly been targeted by conspiracy theories and deepfakes. He previously had to deny "false and fabricated" rumours his wife was born a man, dubbing the transgender claims as being typified misogynistic online attacks on women. And recently he blasted a fake Russian claim that he had a bag of cocaine on the table when he was pictured on his way to Kyiv with Keir Starmer and Germany's Friedrich Merz. Drawing comparison with the shove video and the cocaine tissue claim, Macron said in Vietnam last night: "For three weeks, there have been people who have watched videos and who think that I shared a bag of cocaine, that I had a mano-a-mano with a Turkish president and now that I am having a domestic dispute with my wife. "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. "None of this is true. So everyone needs to calm down." The politician was just 15 when he started a relationship with the then mother-of-three, his French literature teacher. Macron is in Hanoi to begin a week-long tour of Southeast Asia, where he will also visit Indonesia and Singapore. Macron and Brigitte's body language examined By Eleonora Girotto, Video Journalist A BODY language expert has labelled the incident between Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte as "shocking" and "very unfunny". Judi James said that the French President insisting that the shove was "playful" is worrying because it's "trying to normalise something that we should be shocked by". The expert told The Sun: "We quite rightly should be shocked by it, and it absolutely shouldn't matter who's doing it to who. "That's not good natural behaviour. We can see Macron, who very much the alpha male leader with his body language, preparing to get off the plane. "The door opens and anybody looking at him and his wife obviously more than anybody else would know that he's getting into professional mode. "He's about to step out in Vietnam on the world stage, and he's kind of pumped up accordingly. He seems to talk to his wife at the side who we can't see at this point. "But then, shockingly, her hand comes out and presses against his face, the nose as well. "And if anybody wants to try this on themselves, you'll feel how vulnerable it makes you feel. And pushes it to the point where he reels sideways. "So it's not a little stroke or anything like that, and then there's even a final extra push at the end that I think technically could have toppled him over. "You know, this is not playing. It certainly wouldn't be playing at work or anywhere. It's entirely inappropriate. "We can see Macron, his expression suddenly changes to a micro gesture of shock before he turns around and seems to have a conversation with his wife. "Then when we see them emerging, obviously, there's this attempt to sort of do a glow up - nothing just happened. "He does a little wave before this happens. But then when they come out together formally, he does put his hand out and seems to extend it, either to hold her hand or maybe to help her down the steps or to usher her first. "But she ignores him and we get both of them coming down, holding the opposite handrail, making their way down. So it looks very, I would say, frosty. But I would still say that Macron looks rather shocked. "And we can see later on, if we look at a close up of his hand, we can see that it's bored into a fist. The knuckles look white. So clearly a lot of pent up tension there as a result, quite rightly. "I'm pretty sure that over the next few days, we're going to see a superhuman effort to try and look like the sweetest, most loving couple. And I'm sure that we're going to see Brigitte looking a lot more submissive and make him look a lot more dominant." 10 10 10
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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
The Independent
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Brigitte Macron: Who is the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron?
Emmanuel Macron 's wife Brigitte has captured headlines across the globe after she appeared to push the French President in the face as the couple arrived in Vietnam for the start of a Southeast Asia tour. In a now viral video, Brigitte Macron appears to shove her husband, before he descended from the presidential plane on Sunday (26 May). She remained hidden behind the plane's fuselage, blocking any view of her body language. The couple then descended the steps together. An Elysee official played down the moment, denying it showed an argument between the couple: "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." After hitting headlines on Sunday, The Independent has taken a closer look at Brigitte Macron's life. She met her now-husband when he was a student at Le Providence, a Catholic school in France, where she worked as a drama teacher. She was 39 at the time they first met and he was 15. Brigitte was married to banker André-Louis Auzière, and the couple have three children, Sébastien, Laurence and Tiphaine. The now French President began an affair with Brigitte, who is 24 years his senior. His parents had believed their son was dating his teacher's daughter, Laurence, until the truth came out through a family friend. Shocked, the Macrons removed their from the school, but he and Brigitte kept in touch while he was in college. The pair eventually married in 2007 when he was 29 and she was 54. Becoming a stepfather to her three adult children, he told them at the wedding reception: 'Thanks for accepting us, a not-quite-normal couple.' The French President previously called his wife his 'anchor', saying she kept him focused in his job. In an interview with CNN, Mr Macron said: 'For me, it's very important for my personal balance to have somebody at home telling you the truth every day. 'Access to truth is one of the main challenges. Somebody with her deep convictions and knowing you for what you are and loving you for what you are, not for what you represent or your role or your honours. That is very important to me.' In an interview with Elle magazine, Brigitte said she and her husband are 'just like any other couple'. She said: 'We agree, we disagree. We argue, we stop arguing. It's very fluid.'
Free Malaysia Today
26-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Elysee plays down apparent shove on Macron from wife during SEA tour
An Elysee official denied it showed an argument between the couple, who have been married since 2007. (Reuters/AP pic) HANOI : French President Emmanuel Macron's office played down an incident today in which his wife, Brigitte, appeared to push him in the face as the couple arrived in Vietnam at the start of a Southeast Asia tour. In a video, Brigitte Macron appeared to shove her husband before he descended from the presidential plane late on Sunday, causing him to step back before he recovered and waved to the cameras at the foot of the stairs of the aircraft. She remained momentarily hidden behind the plane's fuselage, blocking any view of her body language. The couple then descended the steps together. An Elysee official played down the moment, denying it showed an argument between the couple, who have been married since 2007. '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.' 'It was a moment of closeness,' the official said. Macron's visit to Vietnam, the first by a French president in almost a decade, comes as he aims to boost France's influence in its former colony. Vietnam, which has a heavily export-driven economy, has made concessions to the US in trade talks in a bid to avoid 46% tariffs. But Brussels has concerns that Vietnam's efforts to buy more American goods could come at Europe's expense. US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to impose 50% tariffs on imports from the EU, but softened his stance two days later, restoring a July 9 deadline for talks between Washington and Brussels.
Sky News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
French PM's wife pushes him in the face
F rench President Emmanuel Macron's office downplayed an incident in which his wife, Brigitte, appeared to push his face away as he arrived in Vietnam to begin a Southeast Asian tour. "It was a moment of closeness," the Elysee Palace official said. Monday 26 May 2025 12:18, UK
