During the viral exchange between Emmanuel Macron and his wife, which the French president has addressed, Brigitte Macron reportedly said something to him that has been revealed by a lip reader.
When French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron arrived in Vietnam on May 25, 2025, to begin their Southeast Asia tour, they likely didn’t expect to become the center of an international media frenzy. But a surprising moment caught on camera as the couple prepared to disembark their aircraft quickly went viral.
As the cabin door opened and a uniformed official stepped aside, Emmanuel Macron appeared in mid-conversation just inside the plane. Then came the unexpected: Brigitte, wearing a red outfit, reached out with both hands and firmly pressed against her husband’s face — one hand covering his mouth and nose, the other bracing his jaw. Emmanuel recoiled, startled, and turned his head away. Moments later, he recovered with a tight smile and a wave to the waiting cameras.
What might have remained a private marital exchange instead played out in full view, prompting a storm of speculation and commentary online and across global media.
Outlets like ABC News aired slow-motion footage of the incident, dissecting every frame — from Emmanuel’s puzzled glance to Brigitte’s firm gesture and their visibly restrained demeanor as they stepped into public view.
Major French publications rushed to interpret the interaction. Le Parisien headlined the event: “Slap or Squabble? Images of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron Disembarking in Vietnam Trigger Commentary.”
As Emmanuel stepped off the plane first, he shook hands with an aircrew member and offered a diplomatic wave. Brigitte followed moments later. When Emmanuel turned and extended a hand toward her, she clearly declined. The two then descended the stairs side by side, their expressions composed but distant, without any physical contact.
Adding intrigue to the moment were the words allegedly exchanged. A professional lip reader, commissioned by Vietnamese media, claimed to decipher a tense exchange atop the stairway.
When Emmanuel offered his arm, Brigitte reportedly muttered, “Dégage, espèce de loser” — “Stay away, you loser.” Unfazed, Emmanuel appeared to respond with a quiet plea: “Essayons, s’il te plaît” — “Let’s try, please?” But her answer was swift and final: “Non.” His last words, the expert claimed, were “Je vois” — “I see” — delivered with a composed but telling expression.
Whether it was frustration, resignation, or simply a moment of raw honesty, the brief exchange, now immortalized on video, ignited widespread speculation about the state of the couple’s relationship.
Under growing public and media scrutiny, President Macron addressed the incident the next day during a press conference in Hanoi.
He downplayed the moment, calling it nothing more than “teasing — rather joking with my wife.” He expressed surprise at the level of attention, criticizing the global response as exaggerated: “It’s been turned into a kind of geo-planetary catastrophe where some people are even coming up with theories,” he remarked with clear exasperation.
In a televised interview with BFMTV, Macron further dismissed the buzz: “We are bickering and joking — that’s all,” he insisted, calling the media frenzy “a bit of nonsense.” He rejected any implication of domestic strife, stressing that the brief exchange was playful, not confrontational.
“In the world we live in, we don’t have a lot of time to lose on this,” he concluded, aiming to move past the incident.
Still, despite Macron’s efforts to recast the narrative, the moment continues to captivate audiences. Whether a misunderstood joke or a rare public glimpse into a private relationship, the scene — played out on the steps of an aircraft — has left an indelible mark.
Even a fleeting moment behind a plane door, it seems, can echo far beyond the runway.
