French Book Reopens Macron Plane Incident

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published May 13, 2026

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A viral moment involving French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron has returned to public debate after a new French book offered a different account of what may have happened inside the presidential plane before the couple arrived in Vietnam in May 2025.

The original video showed Brigitte Macron placing her hands on the president’s face as the aircraft door opened in Hanoi. The moment quickly spread online and drew international attention. At the time, Macron played down the incident, telling reporters that he and his wife were “bickering” or joking, while an Élysée source described it as a light moment between the couple before the start of the official visit.

The new account appears in Un couple (presque) parfait, a book by French journalist Florian Tardif of Paris Match. Speaking on RTL, Tardif claimed the scene was not simply a moment of closeness, but a marital dispute triggered by a message on the French president’s phone from a well-known public figure.

According to Tardif’s account, the message was linked to French Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani. He claimed Macron had maintained a “platonic” exchange with the actress for several months and that some of the messages had gone “quite far,” including a reported compliment about her appearance. Tardif said he chose to publish the account because he considered it verified.

The claim, however, has been firmly denied. French media reported that Brigitte Macron’s circle categorically rejected the story, saying she had told the author directly on March 5 that she never looks through her husband’s phone. The president’s entourage also rejected the account and said that denial should have been included in full context.

Farahani has previously dismissed rumors linking her to Macron, describing them as recurring waves of speculation. In earlier comments reported by French media, she suggested that some people feel the need to create such romantic stories, and indicated that she does not give the rumors much importance.

The renewed debate has turned what began as a private moment into an international media story, combining politics, celebrity attention and questions about the public image of a head of state. It also raises a broader editorial question: where does legitimate public interest end, and where does intrusion into private life begin?

For now, the story remains a claim published in a book and repeated in media interviews, strongly denied by Macron’s circle. It should therefore be treated as an allegation, not as an established fact.