Zakharova mocks Macron over viral video: “Was it hand of the Kremlin?

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has taken a jab at French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, after a video showing the First Lady apparently striking her husband in the face upon arrival in Vietnam went viral.

The clip, which captured the French presidential couple disembarking from their plane in Hanoi, shows Brigitte Macron making a sudden hand gesture that appears to make contact with the president’s face. While President Macron dismissed the incident as harmless “horsing around,” Zakharova seized on the moment to launch a mocking commentary on Telegram, Caliber.Az reports.

“The world has been abuzz with footage of Macron receiving a right hook from his wife,” Zakharova wrote. “But that's not what's interesting, it's what the Elysee Palace will come up with this time as the lore of another Emmanuelle-gate.”

In a sarcastic tone, Zakharova recalled a previous controversy involving Macron’s team—dubbed a “snow party” by some media, including the Russian spokesperson — during a diplomatic trip to Kyiv, Emmanuel Macron was, allegedly, photographed with a bag of cocaine – in response, the Elysée stated that the white shape on the table was just a paper tissue. 

“Last time,..Macron's PR people did not think of anything better than to accuse the journalists themselves of spreading fakes. They said it was just a napkin, and they didn't mention the sugar/coffee spoon,” she wrote. 

Turning back to the latest incident, Zakharova offered a list of sarcastic theories:

“Was she handing a napkin but missed? Was she trying to adjust his collar and reached for her favourite face? Tripped and was stopped in her fall by the trustworthy face of the French president? Hint: maybe it was the ‘hand of the Kremlin’?” the spokesperson outlined. 

By Sabina Mammadli