French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, have continuously tried to convince the public that their awkward viral moments are harmless displays of affection.

The couple has previously been compared to President Donald Trump and Melania Trump, which is not a compliment.

Macron and Brigitte were involved in a tense exchange that went viral last year. But now, fresh allegations from a new book are breathing new life into the controversy that simply refuses to die.

New affair rumors are reigniting scrutiny over the viral moment Brigitte Macron appeared to shove Emmanuel Macron’s face aboard their presidential plane. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

The Macrons have long fascinated the public in a way few modern political couples do.

Between their unconventional love story, their 24-year age difference, and Emmanuel meeting Brigitte when she was his married drama teacher, the French first couple has constantly fueled speculation about what really happens behind palace doors.

What was initially dismissed by French officials as a playful “moment of closeness” is now being reexamined after a journalist dropped a bomb on the world.

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According to Le Parisean, reporter Florian Tardif claimed the infamous incident aboard the presidential plane in Vietnam may have stemmed from Brigitte allegedly discovering flirtatious messages on her husband’s phone from Iranian-born actress Golshifteh Farahani.

The moment first exploded online in May 2025 when cameras captured Brigitte appearing to mush her husband’s face moments before the couple exited their aircraft in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Emmanuel, 47, briefly stumbled backward before quickly regaining composure and waving at photographers as if nothing had happened.

Brigitte then refused to grab his hand while descending the stairs, opting instead to hold onto the railing.

At the time, officials at the Élysée Palace insisted the interaction was simply playful banter between husband and wife.

Macron himself brushed off the backlash, claiming critics had turned a harmless joke into a “geo-planetary catastrophe” and urging people to calm down.

Now, according to excerpts from Tardif’s book “Un Couple (Presque) Parfait” (An [Almost] Perfect Couple), the tension may have run far deeper.

The author alleges Brigitte became upset after seeing messages between Macron and Farahani, including one where the French president allegedly told the actress, “I find you very pretty,” Tardif claimed, citing someone he said was a friend of Brigitte. Tardif claimed the pair maintained what was described as a “platonic relationship” for several months.

“[This] led to tensions within the couple, which resulted in this private scene becoming public,” Tardif reportedly explained while discussing the now-infamous moment in Hanoi.

“What hurt Brigitte was not so much the contents of the message as what it hinted at: a possibility,” the book reportedly states this friend said. “She saw herself being erased.”

Representatives for France’s first lady have strongly denied the claims, according to the Washington Times, insisting Brigitte told Tardif she never checks her husband’s phone.

According to Economic Times, Farahani has also denied rumors of any romantic relationship with Macron, previously dismissing the speculation as fantasy created by people “lacking love.”

On X, social media dismissed their denials and ran with the rumors.

One tweet read, “Funny to be the president and ur still being slapped by ur kindergarten teacher.”

But many wondered, “Has Macron cheated?” while others predicted the slap was the beginning of the end. “The divorce is coming next year,” said one critic.

Someone else referenced their age gap as a reason for him stepping out with the ingénue. One judgmental person wrote, “This is what happens when a man marries a woman older than him.”

Another person posed a question, “So two persons (Macron+Brigitte) read the messages between Macron and Farahani on the phone of Macron. The important question is that who gave these information to Media?!! Macron or Brigitte?”

Not everyone joined the chorus. Some believe there’s no suspicion going on.

“Until there’s an actual credible source confirming it, this just looks like another viral rumor cycle,” one person equipped.

Still, the renewed scrutiny has reopened public fascination with one of politics’ most unconventional marriages.

Emmanuel and Brigitte’s relationship has long generated headlines because of their 24-year age gap and how they met.

The future president was just 15 when he met Brigitte, then 39 and married with children, while attending La Providence High School in Amiens. She was his drama teacher and also taught one of his classmates — her own daughter.

Their romance sparked controversy for years before the couple married in 2007. Since Macron became France’s youngest president in 2017, public fascination with their dynamic has only intensified.

And the Hanoi incident was far from the last awkward public moment.

Cameras caught Brigitte seemingly snubbing Macron during a U.K. state visit when he attempted to help her descend from the airplane.

The moment instantly revived online jokes about the couple’s tension.

Despite the speculation, Macron has tried to shift focus back to politics. But in the age of viral clips, every glance, shove, or awkward interaction instantly becomes global conversation fodder.

And for the Macrons, that Hanoi plane moment appears destined to follow them everywhere.

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