French President Emmanuel Macron denied having a “domestic dispute” with his wife Brigitte after a video emerged showing her pushing his face away as they arrived in Vietnam on a diplomatic visit.

Footage shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi on the evening of May 25 shows the door of Macron's plane opening. His wife Brigitte's hands appear on the left side of the open door, she places both hands on her husband's face and pushes him away.

The president looks frightened but quickly recovers and turns to wave through the open door. His wife remains hidden by the body of the plane, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language.

The couple descended the stairs for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, although Brigitte Macron did not take her husband's offered hand, AFP reported.

The video clip quickly spread online, especially on accounts that are usually hostile to the French head of state. The incident was dubbed “slapgate.”

“We were joking, as we often do,” Macron said in Hanoi.

He explained that other videos had also been misinterpreted as showing him sharing a packet of cocaine or confronting the Turkish president.

“None of this is true. Everyone should calm down,” the French president said.

Macron's office initially denied the authenticity of the footage, but it was later confirmed to be genuine.

A close aide to the president later described the incident as a harmless “quarrel” between a couple.

Another member of his entourage downplayed the significance of the incident.

“It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing for the last time before the start of the trip, joking around,” said the second source.

“This is a moment of unity. There was no need to fuel the conspiracy theorists,” the source added, blaming pro-Russian accounts for the negative comments about the incident. | BGNES