Video shows Emmanuel Macron being pushed in face by wife

A video showing Emmanuel Macron being pushed in the face by his wife has been played down by the French president’s office.

Brigitte Macron placed her hands on her husband’s face as they prepared to exit their plane after touching down in Vietnam at the start of a South East Asia tour.

President Macron is seen taking a step back before he recovers and waves to the cameras at the bottom of the aircraft stairs.

The pair then walk down the steps together.

The Elysee initially denied the authenticity of images of the interaction before eventually verifying they were real, French media reported.

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The clip has sparked suggestions of an argument between the pair but Mr Macron said afterwards it was a case of “simply joking with my wife as we often do”.

Speaking to French media after landing in Hanoi he rubbished claims of a “domestic incident”, instead telling broadcasters “it was nothing” and that people on social media were making “nonsense” out of the video.

Appearing frustrated, he claimed it is the third time in three weeks that he has had to clarify the true nature of video clips he has appeared in – after conspiracy theorists claimed it looked like he took cocaine with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and that he had a heated exchange with Turkish President Recep Erdogan.

“I haven’t got lots of time to spare,” he said. “And yet, I’m spending a lot of time explaining the interpretation of these types of videos.

“It’s been three weeks, from Kyiv, to Tirana, and now Hanoi, there are people who have watched videos and believe that I’ve shared a packet of cocaine, had a head-to-head with the Turkish president, and now that I’m having a domestic with my wife.

“None of these things are true – however the videos are real.”

He finished by insisting everyone needed to “calm down” and “interest themselves in current affairs” instead.

A source close to the president previously told the Le Figaro newspaper the pair had “squabbled” but it was a “moment of closeness”.

An Elysee official denied the video showed a row between the couple, who have been married since 2007.

“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,” the official said.