New allegations have emerged suggesting that Iranian-born actress Golshifteh Farahani was linked to the episode last year in which Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, appeared to push her husband’s face at Hanoi’s airport.
According to EuroNews, Florian Tardif, a reporter for the French entertainment weekly Paris Match, argues in his new book Almost Perfect Couple that the incident was not a simple prank but stemmed from tension within the marriage.
In an interview with RTL radio, Tardif said Brigitte Macron saw messages from Farahani on the president’s phone and that discovery set off the dispute. “President Macron maintained a purely friendly relationship with Farahani for several months,” he said, adding that “some of their exchanges were shared by the president’s close aides. The content was quite intense.”
Tardif said the messages included lines such as “I find you very attractive.” He told reporters he revealed the actress’s name because the rumors were already circulating in Paris and because, in his view, “this is not just idle gossip.”
He reiterated that aides to the president alerted Brigitte Macron to the exchanges, which in turn created tension between the couple.
U.S. political outlet Politico and Indian broadcaster NDTV report that Brigitte Macron’s team has strongly denied the claims. A close aide told journalists, “Brigitte does not look through her husband’s phone,” and said they conveyed that denial directly to the author.
The Spectator also covered Tardif’s account, noting that the incident occurred last May in front of the presidential plane after it landed in Hanoi. In widely circulated footage, Brigitte appears to push President Macron’s face with her hand just after the plane door opens, and the clip fueled speculation about the state of their marriage.
At the time, President Macron downplayed the episode, saying, “I was just joking with my wife,” and warning against overinterpretation. The Élysée Palace likewise described the moment as a private, playful exchange.
Farahani, a Tehran-born actress known internationally for roles including Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies, has previously denied any romantic involvement with President Macron. EuroNews cites her response that “rumors come and go like waves.”
