Was Macron flirting with an Iranian actress? Book claims text messages triggered wife Brigitte’s viral slap

Released on Wednesday (May 13), the book says two were in touch for several months and shared what French media described as a “platonic relationship”.

New Delhi: Nearly a year after a video of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at a Vietnam airport spread across social media, a new book by French journalist Florian Tardif has brought the incident back into public attention.

According to reports cited by the New York Post, Tardif’s newly released book ‘An (Almost) Perfect Couple’ claims that tensions between the French president and his wife grew because of alleged private exchanges between Macron and Iranian-born actress Golshifteh Farahani.

Released on Wednesday (May 13), the book says two were in touch for several months and shared what French media described as a “platonic relationship”. The report claimed their interactions were limited to emotional and personal conversations. One alleged message mentioned in the book reportedly described the actress as “very beautiful”.

The controversy traces back to May 25 last year, when Macron arrived in Vietnam. Cameras at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport captured a moment involving the French president and Brigitte Macron shortly before they stepped out of the aircraft. The clip went viral across the world and led to intense debate online.

Argument followed actress’s message?

According to the book, the dispute between the couple escalated shortly before landing in Hanoi after Brigitte Macron allegedly saw a message from the actress on her husband’s phone.

Tardif wrote that the heated exchange resulted into tensions between the couple and later turned into a public moment once cameras captured the interaction at the airport.

The book also cited one of Brigitte’s friends as saying she had begun feeling that her place in her husband’s life was gradually shrinking.

Brigitte’s team has denied the allegations mentioned in the book. Her representatives said she never checks her husband’s phone and rejected the claims made by the author.

Golshifteh too had dismissed rumours about her relationship with Macron earlier this year. In a March interview, she said such stories are often created by people dealing with emotional emptiness in their own lives.

At the time the airport video first surfaced, Macron’s team initially suggested that the footage could have been fake or generated through artificial intelligence. Later, the French president’s office described it as a light-hearted private moment between the couple.

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People close to Macron had said the French president often jokes with his wife before official events and Brigitte responds in a similar manner. Macron himself later said the moment was being exaggerated and urged people not to overreact.

So far, France’s presidential office, the Élysée Palace, has not issued any official response to the new book.

Trump had also mocked Macron over the video

The viral airport footage had also drawn comments from US President Donald Trump last year. During a private lunch, he joked that Macron was still recovering from the “slap on the jaw” and claimed the French president was treated badly by his wife.

A video of the US president’s statement appeared on the White House YouTube channel before being removed later.

Macron later responded by saying public figures should act seriously and avoid making different statements every day. He also said efforts should go towards reducing tensions (in West Asia) and working towards lasting peace rather than amplifying unnecessary controversies.

Macron and Brigitte’s relationship

The relationship between Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron has attracted attention in France and internationally for years because of their age gap and how they first met.

In 1992, when Macron was 15, he met her. She was then 39 and teaching French and drama at La Providence High School in Amiens in northern France. Macron was a student there, while Brigitte’s daughter studied in the same class as him.

Many people at the time believed Macron and his classmate were close friends, but he later developed feelings for Brigitte. He joined the school’s drama club, where she taught theatre, and the two worked together on a play for which Macron helped her write the script.

As the two grew closer, people at the school began talking about their relationship. Macron’s parents opposed it and later sent him to Paris to keep him away from Brigitte.

According to past interviews, Macron later said that period strengthened his determination to prove that falling in love with his teacher was not a mistake.

Even after moving to Paris, he stayed in contact with Brigitte through letters and phone calls. He later recalled telling her that he would marry her no matter what happened.

Brigitte was married to banker André-Louis Auzière at the time. She divorced him in 2006, around 14 years after first meeting Macron. The couple married in 2007 in the French coastal town of Le Touquet. Macron was 29 at the time, while Brigitte was 54.

During his wedding speech, he thanked Brigitte’s children for accepting him into the family. The French president has never publicly expressed a desire to have children of his own and has instead shared family life with Brigitte’s children and grandchildren.

After their marriage, she began playing an active role in her husband’s political journey. She left her teaching career and later took on responsibilities as France’s first lady while continuing to advise him during his political campaigns.