Truth behind ‘playful’ Macron ‘smack’ at hands of wife as footage goes viral

The footage of the charged exchange between the French President, 47, and his wife, 72, made headlines across the globe before Macron’s office issued a statement

The truth behind the video of Bridgette Macron “smacking” her husband and French President has emerged.

In the footage, 72-year-old Bridgette puts both her hands on the face of Emmanuel Macron, 47, before giving him a shove. The charged moment between the couple who have been married for two decades occurred just after they arrived in Vietnam for a tour in Southeast Asia for a pre-planned visit.

President Macron nods towards the aircraft door after he was struck, in a supposed indication to his wife that there are cameras. The camera then pans away from the aircraft door to the cockpit of the plane where the pilot is flying a French flag from the window.

He then appears to touch his face before giving a wave towards the waiting media.

Now it appears the truth behind the odd clip has surfaced. The Élysée, the official presidential palace, had originally denied the footage was real before issuing a statement calling it “a moment of closeness”.

The statement read: “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. It was a moment of closeness,” the statement added.

A source close to the French President played down the incident in comments given to the media. They said: “It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around,’ the second source told reporters.

“It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,” the source added as they blamed pro-Russian accounts for warping the incident.

Macron’s visit to Vietnam is the first by a French president in almost a decade. It comes as he aims to boost France’s influence in its former colony due to unrest with Trump’s imposed tariffs.

Most recently, Vietnam’s President, Lương Cường, said on Monday (May 26) that he and Macron had agreed on measures to deepen cooperation between their countries. He added that economic and trade ties remain a key pillar in their relations.

Macron has previously been open about his relationship with Brigitte. The politician called his wife his “anchor,” helping to keep him honest and focused in his job, without sparing him the truth.

“For me, it’s very important for my personal balance to have somebody at home telling you the truth every day,” he told CNN.

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