Emmanuel Macron Addresses Video of Wife Appearing to Slap Him, Says They Were ‘Joking Around’

Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte appeared to quarrel after landing in Vietnam, but according to the French president, it was just a playful moment between the two.

Video shows the French first lady shoving her husband’s face on their aircraft soon after arriving in Hanoi on Sunday, ABC News reports. In it, a hand and an arm in a red outfit can be seen shoving the president’s face.

The shove seemed to startle Macron, who then waved before walking back into the plane. Later, Macron and Brigitte—who was wearing a red suit jacket—emerged from the aircraft.

"We are bickering and joking with my wife, and a video becomes a sort of geoplanetary catastrophe," Macron said about the incident, per ABC. "In the world we live in, we don't have a lot of time to lose,” he explained.

Later, on France’s BFMTV channel, Macron said the incident was a “domestic scene” and called it “nonsense.”

Macron and his wife traveled to Vietnam during his Southeast Asia tour. He’s also set to visit Indonesia and Singapore.