French President Emmanuel Macron is facing explosive new claims after a bombshell book alleged his wife, Brigitte Macron, slapped him on camera because she discovered allegedly “flirty” text messages between him and Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani.
The shocking incident, which went viral around the world last year, happened just moments after the Macrons landed in Vietnam for an official presidential visit. Cameras captured Brigitte appearing to shove her husband’s face away with both hands as they prepared to step off the plane — instantly sparking rumors of trouble behind closed doors.
At the time, Macron brushed off the awkward moment and insisted the couple was only joking around.
“We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,” the French leader told reporters, accusing critics of blowing the interaction out of proportion.
But now, a sensational new book titled Un Couple (Presque) Parfait — translated as An (Almost) Perfect Couple — is offering a far more dramatic explanation.
According to journalist Florian Tardif, Brigitte allegedly lashed out after seeing messages exchanged between Macron, 48, and Farahani, 43, the actress known for films like Body of Lies.
The author claimed the texts left Brigitte, 73, worried she was “being erased” and feared her husband could leave her for the actress.
Tardif later doubled down on the allegations during an interview with RTL radio, insisting the messages were “flirty,” though he stopped short of calling them explicitly sexual.
“The president of the republic maintained a platonic relationship with the actress for several months,” Tardif claimed. “That is what I was told again and again.”
He also alleged some of the messages included compliments such as, “I find you very pretty.”
The author insisted his book contains “facts, facts and only facts.”
Still, both the Macrons and Farahani have strongly denied the rumors.
Sources close to Brigitte reportedly told French newspaper Le Parisien that she never even searched through her husband’s phone and dismissed claims the actress caused tension in the marriage.
Farahani has also denied having any romantic relationship with the French president.
Brigitte herself previously blamed exhaustion and turbulence during the long flight for the now-infamous exchange caught on camera.
“I was very tired,” she reportedly explained. “There was a lot of turbulence during the flight.”
She claimed Macron had been trying to make her laugh and handed her water before she pushed him away.
French magazine Voici later reported the president had been joking around with bodyguards aboard the jet before the awkward moment unfolded.
Even after the video spread like wildfire online, Macron urged the public to stop fueling conspiracy theories.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” he said at the time.
His office also attempted to downplay the incident, describing it as a harmless moment of “complicity” between the couple before the start of a stressful diplomatic trip.
