Macron’s office downplays apparent shove from wife during Vietnam visit
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In a video, French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to have been shoved by his wife before he descended from the presidential plane in Hanoi on May 25.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HANOI – French President Emmanuel Macron’s office on May 26 played down an incident in which his wife, Brigitte, pushed him in the face as the couple arrived in Vietnam to begin a tour of South-east Asia.
In a video, Mrs Macron appeared to shove her husband before he descended from the presidential plane late on May 25, causing him to step back before he recovered and waved to the cameras at the foot of the stairs of the aircraft.
She remained momentarily hidden behind the plane’s fuselage, blocking any view of her body language. The couple, who have been married since 2007, then descended the steps together, with Mrs Macron refusing her husband’s arm.
“I was bickering, or rather joking, with my wife,” Mr Macron told reporters in Hanoi. “It’s nothing.”
He cautioned that this was not the first time in recent weeks that the content of videos of him had been twisted by people he described as “crackpots”.
Mr Macron cited a video shared on social media that showed him removing a crumpled white object from a table on a train during a visit to Ukraine. Some social media users suggested - without providing evidence - that the object was a bag of cocaine. Mr Macron said it was a tissue and his office accused France’s enemies of spreading fake news.
Earlier on May 26, an Elysee official said of the latest video: “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.”
Mr Macron’s visit to Vietnam, the first by a French president in almost a decade, comes as he aims to boost France’s influence in its former colony.
Vietnam, which has a heavily export-driven economy, has made concessions to the US in trade talks in a bid to avoid 46 per cent tariffs. But Brussels has concerns that Vietnam’s efforts to buy more American goods could come at Europe’s expense.
US President Donald Trump threatened on May 23 to impose 50 per cent tariffs
