Images of French President Maqueron and his wife, Brigitte, during their arrival in Vietnam on May 25(local time) went viral on social media after a suspected slap from Brigitte on Maqueron’s face in an airplane, the public opinion on the relationship between the two speculation.
French President Maqueron begins his six-day visit to Southeast Asia on May 25,2025. During his first visit to Vietnam, Maqueron was photographed allegedly getting “Punched in the face” by his wife Bridget on the presidential plane. Visual China
A video released by the Associated Press shows Bridget, who has yet to emerge fully, raising her hand to push Maqueron’s face away after the cabin door opens (pictured) . When they got off the plane, they didn’t hold hands as usual, but Bridget walked down the plane alone, holding the handrail. The details have added to public confusion, with many netizens questioning the collapse of Maqueron’s “Beloved wife” persona and even conspiracy theories of “Emotional crisis”.
Élysée Palace’s response has taken a dramatic turn since the incident. Early on the morning of the 26th, the Presidential Palace was the first to deny the authenticity of the video, suggesting that it may be“Artificial intelligence synthesis”, but the video was quickly confirmed as a real shot. Maqueron’s henchmen later described it as a “Fight between husband and wife”. The President’s entourage also said it was time to relax before the trip. That evening, Maqueron responded in person in Hanoi, stressing that the video showed only himself and his wife joking and, with a touch of irony, calling the over-interpreted commenters “Crazy” and “Stupid.”, bluntly, it was hyped as a“Geopolitical catastrophe”.
In addition, according to people close to the Maqueron, such gestures are a way for the couple to relieve stress before making public appearances. Élysée Palace also defines them as “Moments of rapport”, “Small fights” meant to ease tensions. However, body language expert Judy James took a different view, saying in an interview with the Daily Mail that the move was too shocking to be called a joke.
According to sources, the circles that initially circulated negative comments had a particular tendency to misinterpret private intimacy as a sign of conflict. But this was questioned by jean-philippe Tanguy, a member of Parliament for the far-right NLD party, who derided Maqueron’s team for its habit of using labels such as “Artificial intelligence” or “Foreign intervention forces”, to shift the focus of a controversy that can not be justified. Maqueron was also reported to have drawn parallels between the controversy and fake news stories such as “Drug use on trains” during a visit to Ukraine with and German leaders, highlighting the frequency of such malicious hype.