Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte were swept up in a media storm after she allegedly “slapped” him. The moment came at the beginning of the couple’s Southeast Asia tour. A lip-reading expert has now come forward to analyze the couple’s interaction and reveal exactly what France’s First Lady said to her husband after hitting him.
The video of the alleged altercation between the couple went viral on social media. The video showed the couple getting ready to disembark a plane in Hanoi, Vietnam. The start of the clip only shows Emmanuel Macron in the frame. As the door of the aircraft opens, a hand comes into view to slap the French President.
Macron quickly composes himself after the “slap” and waves to the camera in a hurry. Immediately after, Brigitte comes into view and begins descending the stairs alongside her husband.
A lip-reader spoke to The Express, revealing exactly what the First Lady of France said to her husband following the slap. “As the aircraft door opens, President Macron is seen turning toward Brigitte. In an unexpected moment, she pushes him in the face,” the expert shares.
The expert also pointed out how the President quickly notes the presence of the staff and realises the door of the aircraft has been opened. He appears to be “uncomfortable” and “quickly raises his hand with a forced ‘Hi’.”
The lip reader notes how the President then makes an attempt to step closer to his wife after “composing” himself. “Moments later, he signals for her to follow him with ‘Let’s go,’” the expert adds. He then proceeds to thank the pilot of the aircraft and waves at the cameras.
French President Emmanuel Macron got slapped from his wife Brigette in full public & Paparazzi view as he stepped off the Presidential Plane in Vietnam. 2nd Pic shows his reaction 😂#Macron #EmmanuelMacron pic.twitter.com/qbVaRf0mCA
— Rosy (@rose_k01) May 26, 2025
According to the lip-reader, before the couple decides to disembark, things turn “icy” between them. “He offers his arm; she ignores it, clinging to the railing instead. As she passes, she appears to mutter and lipread as ‘Dégage, espèce de loser’, translated in English ‘Stay away, you loser’,” the expert claims.
The President then mutters “Let’s try, please?” to his wife and gets “non,” as a response. The expert claims that the President then says “Je vois” to his wife, which translates to “I see.”
The video of the couple’s exchange blew up on social media, making netizens grow concerned about the couple’s marriage. Following the video gaining traction, the President spoke to France24 to clear the air. “We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife,” he explained.
Emmanuel Macron explained the slap from his wife by saying, “we were just fooling around”
“We were bickering — or rather just fooling around — with my wife, but to my surprise, it turned into some kind of planetary catastrophe. People are saying all sorts of nonsense. Everyone… pic.twitter.com/ucSpfWI3LQ
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 26, 2025
He also went on to address how the video was made into a big thing when it was not. The President noted how the interaction between him and his wife was turned into a “geo-planetary catastrophe.”
The French President’s office has also come forward to clear out the misunderstanding surrounding the situation. In an official statement, it was explained how the couple was just “decompressing” before the beginning of their trip by “horsing around,” which was misinterpreted.
Scroll down to pictures of Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron.
