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The French are known for their drama – and this time, it’s not on the big screen.
A viral video that appears to show French President Emmanuel Macron getting slapped across the face by his wife, Brigitte Macron, has set tongues wagging and social media buzzing, with everyone from TikTok pundits to seasoned political analysts weighing in on what looked like a très intense domestic moment.
Captured while the presidential couple was reportedly preparing for an official trip, the footage shows Brigitte Macron making a swift hand movement towards her husband’s face, followed by an audible reaction from the President. Cue the internet: “Was that a slap?” “Did Macron flinch?” “Is this the French version of ‘keeping it real’?”
In an unexpected twist that felt like a romcom meets political satire, President Macron has broken his silence.
“I was bickering, or rather joking, with my wife. It’s nothing,” he said casually, brushing off the controversy with the Gallic charm he’s famous for.
To quell the rumors before they spiraled out of control, the Élysée Palace quickly issued a statement: “It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh… It was a moment of closeness.”
Still, not everyone is buying the “laughing lovers” narrative. French tabloids have gone into overdrive, and memes of the incident—dubbed SlapGate—have been viewed millions of times. One clip even remixes the moment with Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose,” rebranding it as “La Vie en Gifle” (Life in a Slap).
Meanwhile, body language experts and pop psychologists are dissecting every micro-expression, debating whether Brigitte’s gesture was playful, peevish—or a Parisian brand of foreplay.
But for Macron, who’s no stranger to intense public scrutiny and whose relationship with Brigitte has always defied convention, this may just be another day in the life of France’s most watched couple.
As one cheeky X (Twitter) user put it, “In France, even the love taps are presidential.”
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