Stunning video shows Macron’s wife shoving his face — but officials say it’s 'playful teasing'
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Editor's Note: This article headline previously described the contact btween French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, First Lady Brigitte Macron, as "slapping." We've since updated it to "shoving" for accuracy.
On Sunday, July 25, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, First Lady Brigitte Macron, arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam for a diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia. President Macron had meetings scheduled with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong and To Lam, general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, and planned to meet with officials in Indonesia and Singapore after leaving Vietnam.
According to the Irish Star reporters John O'Sullivan and Matthew Dooley, video shot after the Macrons arrived in Hanoi appears to show Brigitte Macron slapping President Macron in the face. But French officials are saying that the video is nothing to get alarmed about.
"Initially, the Élysée Palace denied the existence of the video but later acknowledged it, downplaying the incident as 'playful teasing,' O'Sullivan and Dooley report. "A confidant of Macron brushed off the slap as a 'harmless scuffle' and attributed any overblown response to 'pro-Russian circles.'"
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O'Sullivan and Dooley quote an associate of President Macron as saying that the Macrons were merely playing around.
The associate said, "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."
Before arriving in Hanoi, President Macron explained why visiting Southeast Asia was important.
In a statement, the French leader said, "The major challenges of the century... can only be met in cooperation with our partners. "I've come here to strengthen our ties in key areas: defense, innovation, energy transition and cultural exchanges. Everywhere I go, I'll be saying one simple thing: France is a power of peace and balance.
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