French President Emmanuel Macron’s office brushed off Monday a viral moment showing his wife appearing to slap his face upon arrival in Vietnam, as he kicked off a Southeast Asian tour.
Footage shot by The Associated Press in Hanoi on Sunday evening shows Macron's plane door opening to reveal him.
His wife Brigitte's arms emerge from the left of the open doorway, as she slaps her husband's face.
The president appears startled but quickly recovers and turns to wave through the open door. She remains concealed by the aircraft's body, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language.
The couple proceeds down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron does not take her husband's offered arm.
The video clip circulated rapidly online, promoted particularly by accounts that are habitually hostile to the French leader.
Macron's office initially denied the authenticity of the images, before they were confirmed as genuine.
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.
"It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around," the second source told reporters.
"It's a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists," the source added, blaming pro-Russian accounts for negative comments about the incident.
Vietnam is the first stop on Macron's almost weeklong tour of Southeast Asia, where he will pitch France as a reliable alternative to the United States and China.
He will also visit Indonesia and Singapore.
