A viral video clip has stirred speculation online after capturing an unusual moment involving French President Emmanuel Macron and reportedly his wife Brigitte during their arrival in Vietnam for a Southeast Asian tour.Filmed on Sunday evening, the footage shows the aircraft door opening with Macron stepping into view. Seconds later, a pair of hands appear from the side, briefly touching his face before pushing it away. Macron looks momentarily taken aback but quickly regains composure and waves. The woman said to be his wife Brigitte Macron according to multiple reports remains out of view, her face obscured by the aircraft structure.
Thereafter, as the couple descended the aircraft steps for their official reception, Brigitte appeared to decline her husband’s extended arm, a gesture that added to the intrigue and sparked a flurry of commentary across social media. The clip gained traction on social media with many questioning the circumstances while some resorted to making jokes.Initially, the Élysée Palace questioned the authenticity of the footage, but later acknowledged it was real. Presidential aides sought to downplay the incident.Later, Macron told reporters that he and his spouse – who tied the knot in 2007 following their acquaintance at the school where he studied whilst she taught – were simply sharing a lighthearted moment. “We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife,” he said as quoted by the Associated Press, adding that the situation had been exaggerated, “It becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.”Earlier, his office had provided a similar clarification. “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.Additionally, an aide close to Macron was quoted by AFP saying, “It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,”, attributing much of the online reaction to pro-Russian accounts.Vietnam is the first stop on Macron’s nearly week-long tour of Southeast Asia, as he looks to position France as a viable alternative to American and Chinese influence. His itinerary also includes Indonesia and Singapore.
