A brief but intense moment at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, has captured the attention of social media and French news outlets in recent hours, overshadowing, at least for a moment, the start of President Emmanuel Macron's diplomatic tour in Southeast Asia. The images, which have gone viral, show what at first glance might seem like a "light tap" or a "gentle punch" by Brigitte Macron on her husband's face, just moments before the couple disembarked from the presidential plane.

The episode, recorded in a video released on-line and picked up by various news outlets, has triggered a wave of speculation and commentary. In the footage, shot late yesterday evening, Sunday, May 25, 2025, the airplane door opens and President Macron appears at the top of the stairs. Simultaneously, an arm of Brigitte, only partially visible, moves towards her husband's face in an ambiguous gesture. Immediately afterward, the President turns to greet the Vietnamese authorities waiting on the tarmac with evident embarrassment.

Initially, the Élysée Palace expressed doubts about the video’s authenticity, only to later confirm it. However, the official stance was to downplay the incident. Sources close to the presidency, interviewed by the French outlet "BFMTV", described the episode as a "moment of complicity" between the presidential couple. "It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing and joking one last time before the start of the engagement", an anonymous source told the French broadcaster. "It’s a moment of complicity. That was enough to fuel the conspiracy theorists", the source added, trying to ease any negative or malicious interpretations.

Despite attempts to categorize the event as a simple conjugal banter, the incident has sparked online debate: many users have questioned the nature of the gesture and its potential interpretation. Others expressed solidarity with the couple, criticizing the excessive media attention on a private moment.

The arrival in Vietnam marks the first stop of an important diplomatic mission for the French president. After spending the day in Hanoi engaging in a series of bilateral meetings and official commitments aimed at strengthening economic and strategic ties with Vietnam, the tour will continue until Friday in other key Southeast Asian nations. Upcoming stops will include Indonesia, where Macron will participate in important regional summits, and Singapore, where meetings with economic and political leaders are planned to discuss cooperation and investments.

The Élysée, considering the matter closed, has not issued further comments on the incident, preferring to focus attention on the diplomatic objectives of the trip. The question of the "alleged slap" in Hanoi therefore seems destined to remain a small but noisy interlude in a tour aimed at reinforcing France’s presence and influence in a region strategic for global geopolitical balances.

In the video below, the "incriminated" gesture: