French President Emmanuel Macron has addressed a viral video showing him being pushed away from his wife Brigitte during their disembarkation in Vietnam, dismissing speculation that it was a “geo-planetary catastrophe”.
The short clip shows the aircraft door opening and Brigitte’s hands pushing against Macron’s face before he quickly regains his composure. The Élysée initially denied the incident on the plane but later downplayed its significance.
According to an Élysée source, the couple was merely bickering and playfully teasing each other during their final moments together before the trip began. However, pro-Russian trolls were quick to spin the moment into controversy, fueling disinformation about Macron’s alleged use of cocaine on a train.
The incident in Hanoi comes as Macron faces online disinformation campaigns from Russia, with the Kremlin’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova previously fueling rumors that the French president was using cocaine. Macron has been at the forefront of efforts to defend Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion since 2022.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/26/europe/macron-brigitte-shove-vietnam-intl