Emmanuel Macron's press team have come under fire for their 'catastrophic' handling of a viral video clip that showed the First Lady appearing to slap the president after they touched down in Vietnam for a state visit.
Shocking footage taken on Sunday evening shows the French President's plane door opening to reveal him before his wife Brigitte places both hands on her husband's face and gives it a shove.
Macron's communications team were overwhelmed by furore triggered by the video and tried to claim it was an AI-generated fake before admitting it was genuine just hours later.
However, Elysee officials still denied the couple were having a spat and instead said they were simply 'having a laugh' in a 'moment of closeness'.
Their knee-jerk reaction sent the rumour mill into overdrive, with state radio channel France Info claiming it reflected 'simmering tensions within the Elysee's communications unit'.
