The French president's wife, Brigitte Macron, appears to have her husband stretched out with her hands on his face before getting off the plane this weekend.
President Emmanuel Macron refuted the gesture – grabbed the camera – just the horse, but it caused a sensation. French media on Monday tried to decipher the interactions found by the camera through the plane's newly opened door.
The title of a story on the Daily Le Palis newspaper website asked: “Slap or 'quarrel'? The image of Emanuel and Britz Macron disembarking in Vietnam has sparked a lot of comments.”
Macron later told reporters that the couple was just kidding.
“We were arguing, but we were joking with my wife,” he said, adding that the incident was exaggerated as “a geographical interstellar disaster.”
His office provided similar explanations earlier.
“This is the last moment of decompression before the trip begins. It is a moment of complicity. It is everything that conspiracy theorists need to provide ammunition,” his office said.
Contact, then waves
When the Associated Press arrived in Hanoi on Sunday, a man in uniform could be seen pulling open the airplane door, revealing the president standing inside, wearing a suit and talking to an invisible person.
The arms of the red sleeves stretched out and pushed Macron away, one hand covering part of his mouth and nose, the other on his jawbone. The French leader retreated and turned his head. Then, apparently realizing that he was in front of the camera, he smiled and waved a little wave.
In the subsequent image, Macron and his wife appear on the top of the stairs in a red coat. He provided an arm, but she didn't accept it. They walked side by side down the carpet stairs.
The couple's age gap is 25½ years old and got married in 2007. They first met as a student, who was his high school teacher, married three children, including one of his classmates.
Macron was once slapped in the face by a protester in 2021. The man was eventually sentenced to 18 months in prison and suspended for 14 months.
Macron visited Vietnam for the first time in a decade to serve as French president. On Monday, countries signed deals on Airbus aircraft and defense and other spending amid the risk of high U.S. tariffs.
