French president beaten by his wife? Russia is having a field day

On 26 May, the French head of state travelled to Vietnam to begin his diplomatic visit to Southeast Asia. This tour saw him accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron. 

No sooner had the tour begun than the presidential couple sparked controversy on social media. The reason? A video showing Brigitte Macron slapping her husband as they disembarked from the plane at Hanoi airport. Looking surprised, the French president quickly turned to greet those waiting outside the aircraft. 

The filmed scene caused an uproar on social media. On X (formerly Twitter), people commented: “Macron gets attacked by Brigitte before getting off the plane during his ongoing visit to Vietnam”; “Is he a battered husband?”

Just a squabble 

Emmanuel Macron himself addressed the incident at a press conference: “We were having a squabble, actually joking around with my wife (…) I was just having a joke with my wife, as we often do.”  He added a warning: “I see a lot of nutters spending their days interpreting these videos. Everyone needs to calm down (…) I’m saying this quite calmly.”

Despite these clarifications, the jokes poured in from all around the world. On his Instagram account, former French MP Georges Fenech even parodied the scene. In Russia, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, clearly enjoyed mocking the presidential couple. “What is it this time? The First Lady tried to cheer up her husband by gently stroking his cheek but misjudged her strength? She gave him a handkerchief and missed?” she wrote on her Telegram account.

(MH with Olivia Stasse - Source: Demotivateur - Picture: ©picture alliance / Anadolu | Eko Siswono Toyudho)