‘It was the hand of the Kremlin’: Russian ministry decodes French President Macron receiving ‘a right hook from wife’

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Monday mocked at a viral video of French President Emmanuel Macron’s face being shoved away by his wife Brigitte Macron as the couple disembarked a plane to begin their official visit to Southeast Asia.

As the couple landed in Vietnam to visit Hanoi, Zakharova in a post on Telegram wrote Emmanuel Macron had got a “a right hook from his wife”.

But she said Macron’s advisers would try to explain away the gesture.

“Did the first lady decide to cheer up her husband with a gentle pat on the cheek and miscalculated her strength? Was she handing him a tissue, but missed? Did she want to fix his collar but ended up reaching the beloved face,” she said in the post

“Here’s a hint: maybe it was the ‘hand of the Kremlin’?” the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman added.

French President’s video goes viral

In the video, French President Emmanuel Macron is seen standing in the vestibule adjoining the boarding gate, communicating with his wife Brigitte Macron, who was inside the cabin. As security officials open the gate, the President’s wife’s hand suddenly appears from the doorway, which shoves his face away in a gesture that appears to be an aggressive display.

A crew member who was about to step inside the aircraft backs off immediately after noticing the incident, which could be interpreted as an argument between Macron and his wife.

The French President appears to be startled at first but quickly regains composure as he realises that the boarding gate has opened and cameras are pointing directly at him.

In subsequent images, Macron and his wife, wearing a red jacket, appeared at the top of the stairs. He offered an arm but she didn’t take it. They walked down the carpeted stairs side by side.

Macron denied any “domestic dispute” with his wife, saying that they were “joking as we often do” and noting that other videos had been misinterpreted, such as supposedly showing him sharing a bag of cocaine or confronting the Turkish president.

“None of these are true” and “everyone needs to calm down”, he said.

This is the third time this month that Macron has been the subject of viral video footage at a time when France says it is being targeted by repeated disinformation attacks as Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine.

Even though the claims were later debunked, they still prompted a high-level reaction from the Elysee Palace and the French foreign ministry.