His wife is then seen declining to take his offered arm.

Watch the moment below:

The video quickly circulated across social media and news outlets, prompting widespread speculation and accusations from men, including Russian state media and French far-right commentators.

Initially dismissed as probable “fake news” by the Élysée Palace, Macron later confirmed the video’s authenticity but insisted it was taken out of context.

“There’s a video showing me joking and teasing my wife, and somehow that becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe, with people even coming up with theories to explain it,” Macron said, cited by News.com.au.

“We are horsing around, having a joke, and I was surprised by that, and that becomes a sort of geopolitical disaster,” he continued. “It’s nonsense. People read all kinds of stupidity into