Brigitte Macron has denied claims that she slapped her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, after reading text exchanges between him and French-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani. The denial came in response to a new book making the allegations.
The 73-year-old first lady was seen appearing to push Mr Macron, 48, before cameras as they prepared to disembark a plane during a state visit to Vietnam last May. At the time, the president insisted they were joking, but author Florian Tardif claims in his book Un Couple (Presque) Parfait that the incident stemmed from a dispute over the alleged texts.
Sources close to Mrs Macron told French newspaper Le Parisien: “Brigitte Macron categorically denied this account directly to the author on March 5, specifying that she never looks at her husband's mobile phone.” The Elysée Palace, which previously dismissed the push as “horseplay”, has not officially responded to the new claims.
Mr Tardif told RTL radio that sources said Mr Macron had a “platonic relationship” with Ms Farahani, 42, for several months, but some correspondence “went quite far”, including a message that allegedly read: “I find you very pretty”. He claimed Mrs Macron saw a “message that she was never meant to read”, sparking “a dispute [that was] longer and harsher than usual”.
Ms Farahani has previously dismissed rumours of a relationship with Mr Macron. Speaking to Gala magazine last August, she said: “It comes in waves, it appears, disappears… I watch, I observe: what can I do? It doesn't even bother me.” She added: “The question is why people are interested in this kind of story. I think there's a lack of love in some people, and they need to create such romances to fill that void.”
Mrs Macron has faced numerous conspiracy theories and attacks during her time as first lady. Last month, she told La Tribune Dimanche that the role had left her “sometimes sadder than I have ever been”. Earlier this year, 10 people were convicted of cyber-bullying her after spreading false claims about her gender and sexuality. The Macrons are also pursuing a defamation lawsuit against American influencer Candace Owens over similar online claims.
