1 week ago
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A video showing Emmanuel Macron being pushed successful the look by his woman has been played down by the French president's office.
Brigitte Macron placed her hands connected her husband's look arsenic they prepared to exit their level aft touching down successful Vietnam astatine the commencement of a southeast Asia tour.
President Macron is seen taking a measurement backmost earlier helium recovers and waves to the cameras astatine the bottommost of the craft stairs.
The brace past locomotion down the steps together.
The Elysee initially denied the authenticity of images of the enactment earlier yet verifying they were real, French media reported.
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The clip has sparked suggestions of an statement betwixt the brace but Mr Macron said afterwards it was a lawsuit of "simply joking with my woman arsenic we often do".
Speaking to French media aft landing successful Hanoi helium rubbished claims of a "domestic incident", alternatively telling broadcasters "it was nothing" and that radical connected societal media were making "nonsense" retired of the video.
Appearing frustrated, helium claimed it is the 3rd clip successful 3 weeks that helium has had to clarify the existent quality of video clips helium has appeared successful - aft conspiracy theorists claimed it looked similar helium took cocaine with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and that helium had a heated speech with Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
"I haven't got tons of clip to spare," helium said. "And yet, I'm spending a batch of clip explaining the mentation of these types of videos.
"It's been 3 weeks, from Kyiv, to Tirana, and present Hanoi, determination are radical who person watched videos and judge that I've shared a packet of cocaine, had a head-to-head with the Turkish president, and present that I'm having a home with my wife.
"None of these things are existent - nevertheless the videos are real."
He finished by insisting everyone needed to "calm down" and "interest themselves successful existent affairs" instead.
Perhaps lone the Macrons cognize what truly happened - but that hasn't stopped speculation from spreading
Whatever happened successful the moments earlier Emmanuel Macron near his plane, the French president reacted similar a politician, momentarily startled earlier turning to look the satellite with a grin and a wave.
What helium couldn't halt was the viral absorption to the images of his wife, Brigitte, laying hands connected his face.
In reality, possibly lone the Macrons themselves cognize what truly happened, but that hasn't stopped a immense fig of radical from speculating and spreading.
And foremost among them has, of course, been the blend of governmental opponents and pro-Russian societal media accounts that thrive connected trying to discredit Mr Macron.
Over the past year, they person variously claimed Mrs Macron was calved a man, the president (along with different EU leaders) is "drug-dependent", and Mr Macron has a concealed handshake helium uses with, among others, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
All nonsense, of course, but stirred up to effort to diminish the EU's astir salient centrist politician.
Mr Macron's squad archetypal claimed it was each "fake news", but past they pivoted - wisely - into admitting thing had happened, but playing down the worth of that "something".
A tiff - a spot of light-hearted bickering. Something beauteous overmuch each mates successful the satellite does regularly and surely thing the president seemed genuinely to laughter off.
Is determination much to travel from this? It's imaginable idiosyncratic other who was connected that level volition spill the beans astir what led to the incident. And if they do, expect it to beryllium spun with ever greater ferocity.
But possibly the main happening it does is to adhd a fraction much unit upon Mr Macron's shoulders.
French authorities is fracturing, the governmental centre is struggling and helium is progressively utilized arsenic a hatred fig by European populists. Just similar that infinitesimal successful Hanoi, Mr Macron has to support smiling - but it indispensable beryllium getting harder.
A root adjacent to the president antecedently told the Le Figaro paper the brace had "squabbled" but it was a "moment of closeness".
An Elysee authoritative denied the video showed a enactment betwixt the couple, who person been joined since 2007.
"It was a infinitesimal erstwhile the president and his woman were relaxing 1 past clip earlier the commencement of the travel by having a laugh," the authoritative said.
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