French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly contended that video footage of his wife Brigitte pushing him with both hands to his face on Monday was part of a pro-Russian disinformation effort.

“Brigitte’s gestures #Macron towards the President’s face at #Hanoï: the Élysée initially questioned the authenticity of the footage, hinting it might be an AI-generated video propagated by pro-Russian sources, before ultimately confirming its authenticity and describing it as a moment of “complicity,” noted a claim from the French outlet, Brèves de presse.

Although Macron’s office initially denied the authenticity of the images, The Associated Press later confirmed them as genuine. 

The video depicted a uniformed individual opening an aircraft door while Macron appeared in a suit, standing at the entrance. Brigitte Macron’s arms, visible in her red sleeves, reached out, pushing her husband away with one hand covering his mouth and part of his nose, and the other on his jaw. Macron turned his head but realized the incident was being recorded by news cameras. He swiftly smiled and waved before stepping out of view.

Macron and his wife later disembarked the stairs of the aircraft together. The French president offered his arm, though the first lady – seen wearing a red blazer – did not take hold of it. 

France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron disembark from the plane upon their arrival at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 25, 2025.  (LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

The video quickly went viral and was mainly promoted by accounts that have been accused of being habitually hostile to the French leader.

“For three weeks … there are people who have watched videos and think I shared a bag of cocaine, that I had a fight with the Turkish president, and that now I’m having a domestic dispute with my wife,” said Macron. “None of these are true. Everyone needs to calm down.”

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.