Emmanuel Macron has responded to the criticism surrounding the controversial 'slap' incident with his wife.
The French president and his wife, Brigitte, have made headlines after they were caught on camera with Brigitte appearing to push Macron in the face while waiting to leave a plane.
Many have criticised the interaction after the images went around the world.
Experts have been analysing the footage to get to the bottom of what went on.
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Initially, it was claimed it was a 'joke' and a 'moment of togetherness' as anger started to roll in.
The French president has now responded to the outrage in his unique way.
He has been spotted making light of the moment by sticking his hand out from behind a plane door while waving jokingly.
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The married couple then appeared, arms linked, as they left the plane to greet waiting officials in Indonesia.
Onlookers have been describing the incident as a 'slap', with others claiming she was pushing him in the face during a heated argument.
One source has said his playful wave was a deliberate gesture planned to try to take the heat off them following the argument.
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According to GB News, they said: “Yes, they wanted to respond with self-deprecation. It was a gesture that will be seen as humorous by some and provocative by others.”
French officials were insisting the original incident was 'playful teasing' between a loving husband and wife, with another source insisting it was a 'harmless scuffle'.
Macron was seen gesturing that cameras were there shortly after the 'slap' took place.
A source even blames the backlash on 'pro-Russia circles' for blowing it out of proportion.
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An official said: "It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh. It was a moment of closeness."
Macron could not understand why it had escalated into some 'sort of geo-planetary catastrophe'.
The official then urged people to take a step back and 'calm down'.
Macron has insisted: "My wife and I were squabbling, we were rather joking, and I was taken by surprise.
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"[It has since] become a kind of planetary catastrophe, and some [people] are even coming up with theories."
The couple have been married for almost 20 years, but their union has always proved to be controversial.
Emmanuel was notably just 15 years old when he met Brigitte, who was 25 years older than him, a mother-of-three, and was also his teacher at the time.
She previously told the press how their bond deepened while working on a school play.
Brigitte told Elle France: “In that theatre workshop, we wrote plays together – our relationship was one of artistic equality. It was when we worked on the Eduardo De Filippo play The Art of Comedy.
"We wrote together on Friday nights – and by Saturday, I couldn’t wait for Friday to come around. I didn’t understand why. It seemed insane.”
Macron also laid other rumours to rest, telling the press in Hanoi: "For three weeks... There are people who have watched videos and think I shared a bag of cocaine, that I had a fight with the Turkish president, and that now I'm having a domestic dispute with my wife.
"None of these are true."
Topics: Politics, World News, Emmanuel Macron
Jen Thomas