french president Emmanuel Macron He is embroiled in fresh controversy after a new book claimed his wife, Brigitte MacronLast year, he slapped an Iranian-born actress after allegedly seeing flirtatious messages on his phone during an official trip.Journalist Florian Tardif made the claim in his book An (Almost) Perfect Couple, which suggested that tensions between the couple escalated after Brigitte saw messages allegedly sent between Emmanuel Macron and the actress Geshfi Farahani When I traveled to Vietnam in May last year.The incident allegedly occurred as the couple was preparing to depart Hanoi on a plane. Brigitte was later caught on camera tweeting the president, and the video went viral.Brigitte allegedly read a message from Farahani on her husband’s phone shortly before the public exchange, according to excerpts cited by French newspaper Le Parisien. One of the messages allegedly contained the words: “I find you beautiful,” and was said to have been sent by President Macron.Journalist Florian Tardif claimed in an interview that the exchanges were related to a “platonic relationship” between the president and the actress.“I find you very beautiful,” President Macron said to Farahani in one of the messages, according to Tardif, whose book “An (Almost) Perfect Couple” was published on Wednesday.He further said: “The French president had a platonic love affair with the actress that lasted for several months.”According to the book, the situation created tension in the president’s marriage and led to a “slap” moment on the steps of an airplane that went viral.However, the Elysée Palace (the official residence of the French president in Paris) denied this. Representatives for Brigitte Macron have denied the accusations and insisted she would never check her husband’s phone.“Brigitte Macron categorically denied this claim directly to the author on March 5, stating that she never looked at her husband’s phone,” a representative told Le Parisien.Farahani, who has long faced rumors of a relationship with the French president, has also denied any romance.“I think some people are lacking love and they need to create romance like this to fill it [the void]”, she told Le Point in March.Video circulating in Hanoi showed Macron turning towards his wife as she pushed him in the face. He briefly appeared shocked before regaining his composure and greeting the camera.At the time, the Elysée Palace dismissed the incident as a lighthearted affair. “This was one of the last moments the president and his wife had to relax by joking before the trip,” a close associate said.Macron himself later described it as an act of fun, saying the reaction was exaggerated as “a geo-planetary catastrophe”.
