VIDEO: Brigitte Macron’s push goes viral, Elysee downplays video

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office moved swiftly on Monday to quell speculation surrounding a viral video that shows his wife, Brigitte Macron, lightly pushing his face as the couple arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam — the first stop on their Southeast Asia tour.

The video, filmed late Sunday, captures the moment President Macron appears in the doorway of the presidential aircraft. Seconds later, Brigitte’s hands reach from the side, pressing against his face in what appears to be a sudden shove. Macron briefly steps back before regaining his composure and waving to the press below.

Brigitte remained momentarily out of full view, partially obscured by the aircraft’s fuselage. The couple then descended the stairs together, with Macron offering his arm — which Brigitte did not take, instead opting to hold the railing.

Initially, the Elysee Palace denied anything unusual had taken place. Later, an Elysee official described the moment to Reuters as a lighthearted exchange between the couple, saying they were simply “relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.”

“It was a moment of closeness,” the official said, firmly denying any suggestion of tension between the couple, who have been married since 2007.

Macron's visit marks the first by a French president to Vietnam in nearly a decade and comes as Paris seeks to deepen ties and reassert influence in its former colony. The trip also follows heightened trade tensions, with Vietnam making concessions to the US to avoid tariffs, raising concerns in Brussels that European trade could be sidelined.

US President Donald Trump recently threatened to impose 50 percent tariffs on EU imports, though he later restored a July 9 deadline for trade talks with Brussels.