Latest news with #ÉlyséePalace
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Was Le Slap a love tap or an assault? France's first couple offer a distraction from bad news
Not that you asked, but yes, I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the bad news out of Washington: Pardons for tax cheats who line President Trump's pockets. Talk of pardons for the violent criminals who conspired to kidnap and kill Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Dinners for crypto moguls who shower him with money. His monomaniacal quest to extinguish the light of the country's most prestigious university. His budget that will deprive millions of their healthcare coverage, while slashing taxes for the rich and swelling the $36 trillion national debt by an estimated $3.8 trillion. And don't get me started on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s inane move that could make it harder for pregnant women to get COVID-19 shots, thus depriving their infants of protection against the virus when they are vulnerable and not yet eligible for vaccination. Good heavens, I needed a distraction. Happily, it arrived in the form of an unexpected video. You may have seen it: Last Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte, got tongues wagging when she did something that seemed entirely out of character for the painfully elegant first lady. She was caught on camera squishing her hands right into his handsome face. It looked like an act of hostility. I was intrigued. I know, I know. It's hardly world-shattering news. But who doesn't perk up a bit when the scrim of perfection that shields the private lives of high-profile, perfectly turned-out couples is torn, even for one brief moment? Who can forget the sight of First Lady Melania Trump swatting away her husband's hand during a 2017 visit to Tel Aviv? Or the way her smile faded during his first inauguration the moment he looked away from her, inspiring the #FreeMelania hashtag? For all the drama and rumor that swirled around the Clintons' marriage, I can't think of any public moment when they did not appear civil with one another, even after his disastrous relationship with a White House intern. And the Obamas? Is there any other intensely scrutinized political couple who seem so downright normal? Not that anyone ever really knows what's going on in anyone else's marriage. Which brings us back to the Macrons. His plane was on the tarmac in Hanoi, where he was kicking off a tour to strengthen ties with countries in Southeast Asia. As the plane door opened, the couple were caught unawares. A startled-looking Macron backed up as disembodied hands smushed his face. He instantly collected himself, and his wife appeared at his side. As they began to descend the staircase, he offered her his arm, which she did not take. The bizarre clip went viral, and sent the French government, known as the Élysée Palace, into what one headline described as 'chaos.' Part of the chaos stemmed from the government first claiming that the clip was not real but was possibly a deep fake created by AI and exploited by Russia to make Macron seem weak. After the Associated Press authenticated the video, the French government changed its tune, describing the moment as merely a playful interaction between the couple. Unsurprisingly, given their back story, the Macrons have been the subject of intense fascination for years. They met in 1993 at a Catholic high school in northern France when he was 15. She, nearly 40 at the time, and a married mother of three, was his drama teacher. His parents were so concerned about the impropriety of their relationship that they sent him away to Paris for his senior year. In 2006, she divorced her husband, and married Macron the following year. He was 29. She was 54. 'Of course, we have breakfast together, me and my wrinkles, him with his youth, but it's like that,' Macron told Elle France in 2017. 'If I did not make that choice, I would have missed out on my life.' Unfortunately, Le Slapgate threatened to overshadow the Macrons' trip. 'We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,' he told reporters, complaining that the incident was being overblown into 'a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.' A few days later, though, he was making light of the incident. Or at least trying to. On Tuesday in Jakarta, Indonesia, as his plane door opened, another disembodied hand appeared, this time waving before Macron stepped into the camera frame smiling before he walked down the stairs arm in arm with his wife. Ha ha. For a brief moment, the squabbling of one of the world's most interesting couples gave us a much needed break from the actual geo-planetary catastrophe unfolding around us. For that, the Macrons have my gratitude. Merci, you crazy lovebirds. @ @rabcarian
The Guardian
28-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Brigitte Macron's push has reverberated around the world. Why was it met with a shrug in France?
The French president's plane had just landed in Hanoi. Its door is open and Emmanuel Macron can be seen standing, looking at his wife, Brigitte, who is still inside. Two hands – hers – push his face. Macron seems to bring his arms up in defence, and steps back. Dumbstruck, the president turns and sees the cameras on the tarmac. He's being filmed. In a split second, his shock morphs into a smile. He waves, charmingly, at the journalists: he's back in control. As Macron and his wife walk down the plane's stairs, he offers her his arm. She doesn't take it. The strange moment was caught by Associated Press cameras, and immediately went viral, being shared around the world. Questioned by the French press, which woke up to the images on Monday morning, the Élysée Palace originally claimed that the video was a deepfake, then admitted the scene was real but was simply a 'moment of closeness' shared by the presidential couple. They were 'decompressing one last time before the start of the visit, larking around', a source close to the president briefed the French press. 'But that was enough to feed the conspiracy theorists.' Macron doubled down later during the day, explaining that he and Brigitte were 'bickering, or rather joking', and that he had been 'taken by surprise' by the cameras: 'The video becomes a sort of geoplanetary catastrophe. In the world we live in, we don't have a lot of time to lose. This is all a bit of nonsense.' French TV commentators were left wondering why the Élysée would deny that the whole scene happened: 'It becomes newsworthy because the Élysée lied about it,' a BFMTV journalist noted. Yet the French media immediately accepted Macron's 'squabble' explanation and moved on, the story no longer leading news websites and broadcasts. French political journalists have long applied the 'bedroom rule' to their coverage: what happens in the bedroom, or in romantic relationships more generally, is private and therefore not newsworthy. This has begun to change since the #MeToo movement, thanks to a younger generation of journalists keen to highlight that the private can be political, too, but the attitude remains prevalent in France – even more so if the person in question is the president. There were political reasons, too, to deflect attention from the video – the president is being frequently targeted by online conspiracy theories, and pro-Russia news sources have been leading on the video. Macron said: 'For three weeks, people have looked at videos of me and think that I have shared a bag of cocaine with Keir Starmer, that I have fought with the Turkish president, and, now, that I am having a domestic dispute with my wife. None of that is true, yet these videos are real. Everyone should calm down.' The Élysée Palace's denial in response to the 'cocaine bag' story was funny and straight to the point: the palace's X account simply tweeted a photo of the 'cocaine bag', which was really just a tissue, and commented: 'That's a tissue. To blow your nose.' The incident also reignited speculation around the circumstances of Brigitte and Emmanuel's relationship. Some people on social media were quick to point out that he was 15 and Brigitte was his 39-year-old theatre teacher when they met. Macron has brushed it off several times over the years, speaking about the inevitability of their love, and a certain amount of PR was fed to the press back in 2017, when he was first elected. The media then spoke of their '20-year age difference' and of him being a 'year 12 student' when they met. It is, in fact, a 25-year age gap, and he was in year 10, not 12. Watching the video, it was hard not to wonder what the response would have been if the roles were reversed: what if an older man were to be filmed pushing his younger wife in the face? Would that be met with a shrug that it's no big deal? The power and gender dynamics are different in each case – he is the president, after all – but all forms of partner-on-partner violence deserve attention. There is no way to know what transpired between them at that moment, but optics do matter, especially in the leader of a country. To imply that it is normal for a 'squabble' to become physical, even if in this case there was an innocent explanation, is unhelpful at best. That Macron doesn't see the potential problem in the video points to a narrow, obsolete understanding of couple dynamics and domestic violence. He has twice proclaimed gender equality to be the 'great cause' of his presidential mandates before refusing to properly fund it; he has spoken in support of the French actor Gérard Depardieu, who has recently been found guilty of sexual assault and is soon to be on trial again for rape; and to this day, the former interior minister and current justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, who was accused of sexual assault (the case has now been dismissed), has remained in Macron's cabinet. It would have been easy enough to turn this moment into a public health message. He could have simply said that he's alright, thanks for your consideration, but that men who do experience violence should feel no shame in seeking help, using it as an opportunity to discuss domestic violence prevention. Instead, he mocked the 'fools' who thought anything could be amiss. Pauline Bock is a French journalist based in Paris
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘It's Nonsense': Macron plays down video of shove from wife
The door of a plane carrying the French president, Emmanuel Macron , had just been opened by staff members in Hanoi, Vietnam, when two hands reached out and pushed Macron smack in the face. He looked stunned at first. Then he looked up at a camera filming the scene from outside Sunday and waved. The video spread quickly. The hands belonged to the French first lady, Brigitte Macron. On Monday, Emmanuel Macron said the video had captured him and his wife 'bickering and rather, joking around', something, he said, 'we often do'. READ MORE 'I'm surprised by it; it turns into some kind of global catastrophe where people are even coming up with theories to explain it,' he said Monday. 'It's nonsense.' Macron, whose arrival in Vietnam marked the start of a five-day state trip to Southeast Asia, said it was the latest in a string of disinformation put out by 'crazy people' targeting him in recent weeks. The footage was real, he said, but the interpretations were fake. Two weeks ago, Macron travelled with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, on a train. A video of them showed a tissue lying on a table in their cabin, and some social media accounts described it as a 'bag of cocaine.' The Élysée Palace, the president's office, put out a rare social media post at the time, stating: 'When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs. This fake news is being spread by France's enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation.' Macron also cited a video of his lingering handshake with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at a meeting in Tirana, Albania, as another example of disinformation. 'It's been three weeks — if you look at the international agenda of the president of the French Republic, from Kyiv to Tirana to Hanoi, there are people who have watched the videos and believe that I shared a bag of cocaine, that I had a 'mano a mano' with a Turkish president and that right now I'm having a fight with my wife. None of this is true,' he told reporters Monday. 'So everyone needs to calm down and focus on the real news.' Still, the video lit up conservative talk show channels across France on Monday. Ivan Rioufol, a right-wing political columnist, said the video clip implied 'there may be domestic violence against men'. The incident on the plane suggested there was an imbalance in the relationship between Macron and his wife, Rioufol told the Europe 1 television channel. Macron 'cannot even command respect from his wife when there are cameras in front of him,' Rioufol said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times .
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 Guardian
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Macron says video of wife pushing him in face does not show them quarrelling
Emmanuel Macron has denied he and his wife, Brigitte, had an altercation after a viral video promoted by Russian state media and French far-right accounts appeared to show her pushing him in the face as they prepared to get off a plane in Vietnam. The video, shot by an Associated Press camera operator, shows the French president appearing in the doorway of the plane at the start of a visit to Hanoi. His wife's hand appears to shove him, causing him to step back before recovering and waving. Brigitte's body is not visible and there is no way of knowing whether the gesture was playful, as Macron told reporters afterwards, or part of an argument between the couple – as the spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry suggested. Maria Zakharova said on Telegram the president had received 'a right hook' from his wife. 'Did the first lady decide to cheer up her husband with a gentle pat on the cheek and miscalculated her strength?' she asked in a mocking post. 'Did she want to fix his collar but ended up reaching the beloved face?' Zakharova added, after the Russia Today TV channel and associated social media accounts had repeatedly aired the clip. 'Here's a hint: maybe it was the 'hand of the Kremlin'.' Macron told reporters in Hanoi that he and his wife were 'joking around, as we do quite often'. An Élysée Palace official told French media the scene showed 'a moment of closeness. But that was enough to feed the conspiracy theorists.' Another Elysée source said the couple were 'decompressing one last time before the start of the visit, larking around'. Macron 'loves playing jokes like on his wife before official occasions, and she always responds like this … It wasn't even a slap.' Macron noted that other videos of him had been misinterpreted. People have though 'I shared a bag of cocaine, tussled with the Turkish president, now that I'm having a domestic dispute with my wife … None of this is true. Everyone needs to calm down.' Zakharova and the US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones this month wrongly accused Macron, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, of using drugs on a train to Kyiv, claiming a crumpled tissue was a bag of cocaine. Macron told reporters in Hanoi the internet accounts making the claims were 'familiar', allying Russians with French extremists, adding that commentators had explained this morning that 'my diplomacy was that of a battered husband'. France and Vietnam on Monday signed deals on Airbus planes, defence and other pacts worth €9bn (£7.55bn) as Macron and his wife embarked on the first formal visit by a French presidential couple to the country's former colony in nearly a decade. The deals with Vietnam come amid trade turmoil sparked by US president Donald Trump's tariffs and cover the purchase of 20 Airbus planes, cooperation on nuclear energy, defence, rail and maritime transport, satellites and vaccines.
