French President Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron have been hit with new claims suggesting that the French president might have been cheating on his 73-year-old wife. Journalist Florian Tardif claimed in his latest book an an interview with RTL France that Brigitte allegedly found steamy messages exchanged between Macron and Iranian-born actor Golshifteh Farahani, leading to her slapping the president in Hanoi. The incident was caught on camera last year.
These allegations appear in Tardif’s newly released book An (Almost) Perfect Couple.
Alleged messages at center of controversy
Tardif claimed during an interview with RTL France that tensions escalated after Brigitte saw messages from Farahani on Macron’s phone shortly before slapping him.
“I find you very pretty,” President Macron allegedly told Farahani in one of the messages, according to Tardif.
French outlet Le Parisien reported that Macron and Farahani allegedly maintained a ‘platonic relationship’ over several months. Farahani, known for her outspoken criticism of the Iranian regime, has repeatedly denied rumors of any romantic involvement with the French president.
Viral Hanoi incident resurfaces
The controversy traces back to May last year when video footage showed Brigitte appearing to shove Macron in the face moments before the couple exited their plane in Vietnam. The clip spread rapidly online and sparked widespread speculation about tension inside the presidential marriage.
“[This] led to tensions within the couple, which resulted in this private scene becoming public,” Tardif explained while discussing the book.
Le Parisien also cited excerpts claiming Brigitte had just seen a message from Farahani moments before the confrontation.
“What hurt Brigitte was not so much the contents of the message as what it hinted at: a possibility … nothing tangible or that could really be denounced but the idea alone … was enough,” reads one excerpt from the book.
“She [Brigitte] saw herself being erased,” Tardif quoted a friend of the first lady as saying.
Macron camp pushes back against allegations
Representatives for Brigitte Macron strongly denied the claims surrounding the alleged messages and rejected suggestions that she checked her husband’s phone.
“Brigitte Macron categorically denied this account directly to the author on March 5th, specifying that she never looks at her husband’s mobile phone,” a representative told Le Parisien.
Farahani also addressed the rumors earlier this year, dismissing speculation surrounding her relationship with Macron.
“I think that there is a lack of love for some people and they need to create romances like this to fill [the void],” she told Le Point in March.
Elysee Palace previously dismissed incident as playful moment
At the time the Hanoi footage first emerged, Macron’s team initially attempted to downplay the controversy. Some members of the president’s inner circle reportedly even suggested the footage could have been AI-generated before later insisting the interaction was harmless.
“It was a moment when the president and his wife were unwinding one last time before the start of the trip by joking around,” a close associate of Macron said.
“He loves to make jokes about his wife before these kinds of moments when they’re about to begin an official engagement. And she always reacts like that,” the associate added.
