HANOI, Vietnam – French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed a storm of speculation over a viral video appearing to show his wife Brigitte striking him in the face, insisting the moment was nothing more than playful banter between spouses.
“We were arguing, or rather just horsing around with my wife,” Macron told reporters Monday during his official visit to Vietnam.
“But to my surprise it became a kind of planetary catastrophe. People are saying a lot of stupid things. Everyone needs to calm down,” he added in remarks broadcast by the Élysée Palace on X.
The video, which captured Macron exiting a plane with Brigitte by his side on May 25, appears to show the president being pushed in the chin—though Brigitte is out of frame.
Initially, the Élysée Palace attempted to brush it off, denying the authenticity of the footage. But as the clip spread rapidly across social media and was picked up by multiple news outlets, a source close to the president described it as a “family quarrel.”
Now, Macron is making it clear: this was not a scandal, not an altercation, and certainly not a “family scene” gone violent.
From denial to damage control
What started as a brief, blink-and-you-miss-it moment turned into international buzz, with users on platforms like TikTok and Twitter dissecting the clip frame by frame. Some claimed Brigitte had struck her husband in anger, while others speculated about the state of their marriage.
The Élysée’s initial denial didn’t help matters. In fact, it added fuel to the fire. But Macron’s casual explanation—delivered with a touch of frustration and humor—appears aimed at putting the drama to rest.
Setting the record straight
This isn’t the first time Macron and his wife, who have long been under the public microscope due to their age difference and high-profile relationship, have had to address personal matters in the media spotlight.
Still, calling it “horsing around” may be enough to dial down the noise. For now, the president is focused on his state visit agenda in Vietnam—one that’s meant to highlight trade, diplomacy, and strategic cooperation, not social media drama.
