The Associated Press filmed French President Emmanuel Macron’s arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam this week, intending to capture the beginning of a visit to Southeast Asia with his wife, Brigitte.
But the video went viral for a different reason. As the airplane doors opened, the video captured Brigitte Macron pushing her husband’s face. Once the president realizes they’re being filmed, he steps away from her and waves at the cameras.
People have chimed in on what they think was happening, with many finding the interaction concerning.
But as much as laymen and experts might try to read into the clip, it is impossible to glean much from it without more context, says Karen Quigley, a psychology professor at Northeastern University.
“I don’t think it’s fair to necessarily make strong assumptions about what was happening at that moment,” says Quigley. “Admittedly, the body language (with) the hands on the face and his response after made people uncomfortable. But the reality is we don’t know what led up to it.”
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Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images