Macron's Office Downplays Plane Incident with Wife

Footage shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi on May 25 evening shows Macron's plane door opening to reveal him.

His wife Brigitte's arms emerge from the left of the open doorway, she places both hands on her husband's face and gives it a shove.

The president appears startled but quickly recovers and turns to wave through the open door. She remains concealed by the aircraft body, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language.

The couple proceed down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron does not take her husband's offered arm.

The video clip circulated rapidly online, with Macron's office initially denying the authenticity of the images, before they were confirmed as genuine.

A close associate of the president later described the incident as a couple's harmless "squabble."

Another member of his entourage played down the significance of the incident.

"It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around," the second source told reporters.

"It's a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists," the source added, blaming pro-Russian accounts for negative comments about the incident.

Source: Reuters