French President Macron reportedly slapped by wife during Vietnam tour

HANOI: French President Emmanuel Macron was reportedly slapped by his wife Brigitte, as per some sections of the media, as the two arrived in Vietnam at the start of a Southeast Asia tour.

In the video, Brigitte Macron appeared to slap or shove her husband's face away before he descended from the presidential plane late on Sunday. The president could then be seen stepping back before he recovered and waved to the cameras at the foot of the aircraft's stairs.

She remained momentarily out of sight, the couple then descended the steps together.

However, Macron’s office Elysee, played down the moment, denying it showed an argument between the couple, who have been married since 2007.

"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," an official claimed.

A close associate of the president later described the incident as a couple's harmless "squabble". Another member of his entourage played down the significance of the incident.

Macron's visit to Vietnam, the first by a French president in almost a decade, comes as he aims to boost France's influence in its former colony.

Vietnam, which has a heavily export-driven economy, has made concessions to the US in trade talks in a bid to avoid 46% tariffs. But Brussels has concerns that Vietnam's efforts to buy more American goods could come at Europe's expense.

US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to impose 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union, but softened his stance two days later, restoring a July 9 deadline for talks between Washington and Brussels. 

— With additional input from AFP.