Emmanuel Macron downplays wife Brigitte’s bizarre face shove caught on video: ‘We were horsing around’

HANOI, VIETNAM: French President Emmanuel Macron has downplayed a viral video in which his wife, French first lady Brigitte Macron, was seen shoving him in the face as they waited to disembark their plane in Vietnam.

After the incident went viral, Macron clarified that he and his wife were just "horsing around" in the alleged fight, which was caught on camera on Sunday, May 25, according to the Daily Mail.

Emmanuel Macron insists he and his wife were 'horsing around' in alleged viral fight

A video of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed the French president's plane door opening to reveal him.

His wife Brigitte's arms were then seen emerging from the left of the open doorway as she placed both her hands on Macron's face and gave it a shove, per the outlet.

The French president seemed startled but quickly recovered and turned to wave through the open door.

Meanwhile, the French first lady was concealed at the moment of contact, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language, the outlet reported.

Soon, both Macron and his wife proceeded down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte did not take her husband's offered arm.

Macron later told reporters that the couple were simply joking around, per Fox News.

He said, "We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife," and added that the incident was being overblown into "a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe."

Macron added, "Everyone needs to calm down."

Moreover, Macron's office also downplayed the interaction, per the outlet.

His office said, "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."

Furthermore, his office also reportedly informed CNN that the clip showed a "moment of togetherness," and that Macron and his wife were unwinding after a long trip and playfully teasing each other.

Emmanuel and Brigitte met at a French high school where he was a teenage student, and she was a roughly 39-year-old married teacher. Emmanuel married Brigitte in 2007 when he was 29, according to Fox News.

Meanwhile, Macron visited Hanoi on Monday to begin a week-long tour of Southeast Asia, where he will also visit Indonesia and Singapore, according to The Sun.

Internet fumes as viral clip shows Emmanuel Macron's face being shoved by his wife

Several internet users were angry and fumed as a viral clip showed Emmanuel Macron's face being shoved by his wife as the couple waited to disembark their plane in Vietnam.

A user wrote on X, "That was not 'joking and teasing'. That was domestic violence and he should seek counseling," while one added, "Yikes. Rough gal. Imagine what she’s like most of the time behind closed doors."

A person also stated, "An abuser being an abuser," whereas one mentioned, "That did not look like joking around. Watch the change in his facial expression as he sees the cameras. This should not be acceptable no matter who it is."

A user also wrote, "This is not the face of someone who was just playing around," while one commented, "If Brigitte had come out smiling, and held his arm, I might be convinced, but Brigitte looks totally pissed. The "teasing" is just damage control."

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