French President Emmanuel Macron was scolded by wife Brigitte Macron after she aggressively shoved his face in a shocking moment that has since gone viral.
Brigitte allegedly called the politician a “loser” after their uncomfortable squabble that unfolded on an airplane during their state visit to Vietnam Sunday, a lip reader told The Express in an article published Wednesday.
“As the aircraft door opens, President Macron is seen turning toward Brigitte,” the expert explained. “In an unexpected moment, she pushes him in the face. Realizing the door is already open and staff are witnessing the interaction, Emmanuel appears uncomfortable and quickly raises his hand with a forced ‘Hi.’
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The analyst claimed that Emmanuel, 47, attempted to compose himself and stepped closer to his spouse, 72, before crossing to the other side of the plane. He then signaled his wife to follow him by telling her, ‘Let’s go.’
“He thanks the pilot and waves at the cameras, trying to recover the public-facing image,” the analyst explained.
While Emmanuel was momentarily calm, the analyst claimed “things turn[ed] icy again” when the couple was seen descending the stairs to the tarmac.
“He offers his arm; she ignores it, clinging to the railing instead,” the analyst shared. “As she passes, she appears to mutter … ‘Dégage, espèce de loser,’ translated in English, ‘Stay away, you loser.’”
Emmanuel apparently replied to her name-calling by saying, “Essayons, s’il te plaît,” which translates in English to “Let’s try, please?” to which she allegedly answered in her native tongue, “No.”
“His closing expression, and the phrase lipread as ‘Je vois,’ translated in English [to] ‘I see,’ says it all,” the analyst added.
The expert completed the analysis by offering a “hot take.”
“A rare unguarded exchange that hints at deeper tensions between the couple. One to watch, especially with a packed diplomatic schedule ahead.” the lipreader said.
Brigitte and Emmanuel’s volatile exchange was captured on camera over the weekend after they touched down in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, Sunday.
Emmanuel was seen standing close to the plane’s exit door when Brigitte lunged at his head with both her hands and pushed him with full force.
The president appeared shocked before attempting to shake it off by waving at the media filming the interaction.
Shortly after, they exited the aircraft side-by-side but notably did not touch or hold hands.
Emmanuel released a statement shutting down the allegation that they were “squabbling” and chalked it up to a moment of “joking
“Everyone needs to calm down,” he said, noting that the public was turning the moment into “a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.”
“People are saying all sorts of nonsense,” he claimed.
A source close to the French leader alleged that Emmanuel was “decompressing” ahead of the trip by “joking around.”
“It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,” the source said.
