Hanoi, Vietnam — French President Emmanuel Macron's bureau connected Monday downplayed an incidental successful which his woman appeared to propulsion his look distant arsenic helium arrived successful Vietnam to statesman a Southeast Asian tour.
Video changeable by The Associated Press successful Hanoi connected Sunday evening shows Macron's level doorway opening, revealing him. His woman Brigitte's arms past look from the near of the unfastened doorway, she places some hands connected her husband's look and gives it a shove.
The president appears startled but rapidly recovers and turns to question done the unfastened door. She remains concealed by the craft body, making it intolerable to spot her facial look oregon assemblage language.
A screengrab from AP video shows French President Emmanuel Macron wrong his airplane close aft arriving astatine Noi Bai International Airport successful Hanoi, Vietnam, May 25, 2025, with his woman Brigitte Macron's hands connected his face.
AP Television News
They proceed down the staircase for the authoritative invited by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron does not instrumentality her husband's offered arm.
The video clip circulated rapidly online, promoted peculiarly by accounts that are habitually hostile to the French leader.
Macron's bureau initially denied the authenticity of the images, earlier they were confirmed arsenic genuine.
Later, Macron told reporters that helium and his woman had conscionable been joking around.
"We are horsing astir and, really, joking with my wife," helium said, calling reports connected the incidental overblown: "It becomes a benignant of geo-planetary catastrophe."
A adjacent subordinate of the president earlier described the incidental arsenic a couple's harmless "squabble."
France's President Emmanuel Macron and his woman Brigitte Macron disembark from their level upon arriving astatine Noi Bai International Airport successful Hanoi, Vietnam, May 25, 2025.
LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty
Another subordinate of his entourage besides played down the value of the incident.
"It was a infinitesimal erstwhile the president and his woman were decompressing 1 past clip earlier the commencement of the travel by joking around," the 2nd root told reporters, including AFP's.
"It's a infinitesimal of togetherness. No much was needed to provender the mills of the conspiracy theorists," the root added, blaming pro-Russian accounts for antagonistic comments astir the incident.
The Macrons got joined successful 2007, but they met erstwhile the president was inactive successful precocious school, and she was a teacher.
Vietnam is the archetypal halt connected an astir week-long circuit of Southeast Asia for Macron, wherever helium volition transportation France arsenic a reliable alternate to the United States and China amid economical uncertainty fueled by the 2 planetary giants' ongoing commercialized tariff war.
He volition besides sojourn Indonesia and Singapore.
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