Russian official mocks Emmanuel Macron getting 'a right hook' from wife Brigitte: 'Hand of the Kremlin'

The viral video shows Emmanuel Macron getting shoved by wife Brigitte just as they were about to get off their plane in Hanoi
PUBLISHED MAY 28, 2025
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova didn't let go of a chance to mock French President Emmanuel Macron after a video showed his wife Brigitte Macron shoving his face away before exiting a plane (CNN News-18/YouTube)
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova didn't let go of a chance to mock French President Emmanuel Macron after a video showed his wife Brigitte Macron shoving his face away before exiting a plane (CNN News-18/YouTube)

MOSCOW, RUSSIA: Russia’s foreign ministry isn’t letting go of a chance to mock French President Emmanuel Macron after a video showed his wife, France's first lady Brigitte Macron, shoving his face away before exiting a plane.

The widely circulated video shows Brigitte’s hands suddenly appearing from the plane’s doorway and shoving her husband’s face away as security officials open the gate to welcome the couple in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday, May 25.

While Macron sought to brush off the incident as a 'joking around' moment, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova believes it was much more than that: maybe ‘a right hook’ from Brigitte or the 'hand of the Kremlin'?"



 

Russia Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mocks Emmanuel Macron over viral video

On Monday, May 26, Zakharova took a jibe at Emmanuel Macron as she claimed the French president had received "a right hook from his wife" in the viral video.

The Russian official also sarcastically suggested various explanations for the gesture. “Did the first lady decide to cheer up her husband with a gentle pat on the cheek and miscalculate her strength?” she wrote on Telegram.

“Was she handing him a tissue, but missed? Did she want to fix his collar but ended up reaching the beloved face,” the spokesperson continued before adding, “Here’s a hint: maybe it was the ‘hand of the Kremlin’?”

The video has been shown repeatedly on Russian state television and has been making the rounds on accounts hostile to the French president.

Emmanuel Macron tries to brush off viral incident

In the shocking video, Brigitte's arm is seen emerging from the left of the open doorway as she places both hands on her husband's face and gives it a shove.

The president appears startled but quickly recovers and turns to wave through the open door. Meanwhile, the French first lady, concealed at the moment of contact, making it impossible to see her facial expressions.



 

The couple then walks down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese authorities, but Brigitte Macron declines her husband's offered arm.

An Elysee spokesman played down the incident, denying it showed an argument between the couple. "It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh," the official said, according to the Daily Mail.

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 14:  French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron attend the t
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron (Getty Image)

Macron himself dismissed speculation that the first lady shoved him, claiming the couple was just playing around.

“There’s a video showing me joking and teasing my wife and somehow that becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe, with people even coming up with theories to explain it," Macron said, adding "We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife."

Macron did not reject the clip's legitimacy, but he blamed the videographers for blowing it out of proportion. "The videos are all real, and yes, sometimes people tamper with them, but people are attributing all kinds of nonsense to them," he stated.

MORE STORIES

After likening Trump’s immigration tactics to Nazi Germany, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker denied ever comparing him to Adolf Hitler
1 day ago
Melania Trump reportedly distanced herself from President Donald Trump’s East Wing renovation, privately questioning the historic demolition, WSJ reports
1 day ago
Donald Trump expressed willingness to work with Democrats while noting that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, has 'been terrible'
3 days ago
Trump also brought up an incident from 30 years back when Mikie Sherrill was not allowed to participate in her graduation ceremony
4 days ago
Bernie Sanders said, 'So long as we have nation-states, you’ve got to have borders. If you don’t have any borders, then you don’t have a nation'
4 days ago
John Fetterman told Sean Hannity he’s fed up with his party painting Republicans, and especially Trump, as racists, Nazis, or fascists
6 days ago
George Santos says Zohran Mamdani's takeover of City Hall would turn New York City into a 'very dangerous place'
7 days ago
Chuck Schumer said that things are getting worse every day for the American people
7 days ago
Robert De Niro said Trump 'is not going to leave the White House' and urges Americans to 'strap on their balls and do something about it'
Oct 20, 2025
The new aircraft is to be used to replace an older plane flown by Kristi Noem
Oct 20, 2025