A new book alleges Brigitte Macron slapped French President Emmanuel Macron after discovering flirty text messages sent to an actress [1].

The claim introduces a personal conflict into the public image of the French presidency, contrasting a narrative of marital strife with the official version of the events.

In the book *An (Almost) Perfect Couple*, author Florian Tardif writes that Brigitte Macron was hurt after seeing messages sent to Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani [1]. According to the text, this discovery led to a slap delivered on an aircraft during a foreign trip in 2023 [1].

Separate footage of the couple emerged on May 25, 2024 [2], as the president arrived in Vietnam. While some reports characterized the interaction as a slap, other accounts describe the video as showing a brief push [2].

President Emmanuel Macron has disputed the notion that the interaction was an act of aggression or a result of marital discord. "We were just horsing around," Macron said [2].

The discrepancy between the author's account and the president's statement highlights a conflict in the nature of the contact. One source describes a targeted slap motivated by infidelity, while another suggests the couple was merely playing [1], [2].

“"We were just horsing around."”

This incident reflects the tension between the curated public image of the Macron presidency and the private narratives presented by biographers. By attributing a physical altercation to alleged infidelity, the book challenges the official account of 'horsing around,' potentially impacting the perceived stability of the couple's partnership in the eyes of the public.