LECTORAAT CHANGE MANAGEMENT – De Haagse Hogeschool

The images were broadcast around the world: Brigitte Macron pushing (or was it slapping? or punching?) her husband’s face as they were about to step out of a plane after landing in Hanoi. The French president seems shocked, both by the push itself and by the realization that Associated Press caught this moment on camera. And sure enough, the clip went viral soon after.

Although no one was actually on the plane to witness the incident first hand, many expressed strong opinions as to what had happened. The gossip was rife, and conspiracy theories went into overdrive. According to The Guardian, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson claimed that the French president had received a “right hook.”  Some media stories called it a push, others a slap. Yet, nobody could explain: what brought on this incident? And was it as bad as it looked?

Illustration created by ChatGPT

As part of my research into how people gossip when confronted with inappropriate behavior, I started to explore how such a high profile incident is discussed in public discourse. According to many scholarly definitions, gossip involves “two or more people speaking about an absent third party.” So, both the news coverage of the Macron incident and the flood of reader comments that followed can definitely be considered a form of gossip.

What makes this case interesting to me, is how well it lends itself to framing analysis, a method that looks at which parts of a story are highlighted or downplayed, and how that influences the way people see, think or feel about the issue.  

Even though a thorough analysis would require a more systematic approach — analyzing a wide range of articles and their corresponding comment sections using tools like Atlas TI –even an initial scan of a couple of opinion pieces and readers’ comments on Reddit, reveals some interesting patterns in how the event was framed.

1. Not a big deal. Couples manifest their feelings in different ways.

Soon after it happened, Macron downplayed the incident, saying that he and Brigitte were just “horsing around.”  The French media pretty much accepted this explanation, framing it as a “moment de complicité” (a moment of complicity) and did not dwell on it too much. Many felt this slap was not “some kind of planetary catastrophe,” as Macron himself put it. It’s not like he left the plane with a black eye or a bloody nose, after all. “Some couples do get physical,” one reader writes. “Doesn’t mean they hurt each other.” “The word ‘victim’ has become so over used that it lost its true meaning.” 

2. This is abuse.

Many, however, framed the incident as a case of a man being abused by his older wife.  Pauline Bock, a French journalist writing for the Guardian, wonders how people would have responded, had the genders been reversed.  Even if Macron is in a strong power position, “all forms of partner-on-partner violence deserve attention.”  Bock claims the president should have turned this moment into a public health message. “He could have simply said that he’s all right, thanks for your consideration, but that men who do experience violence should feel no shame in seeking help.”  

Several readers wrote: “Domestic violence should never be trivialized or tolerated.” “Spousal abuse is a very serious issue, regardless of the gender of the perpetrator and the victim. I hope he gets the support he needs if he needs it.”

3. Macron was groomed. Brigitte is 20 years older.

Quite a few people even violently attack Brigitte Macron on Reddit, calling her “a sexual predator,” “a pedo that should be in jail.” “She raped [Macron] when he was 15.”

While their age difference is considered as abuse to many, others defend Brigitte Macron: “They got married when he was 29 and after years of his parents separating him. Either she is an amazing groomer to maintain it for 12 years or they are truly two people in love.”

4. The right to privacy (which the media violates).

For many, the right to privacy is sacred. One Guardian reader writes: “What happened is between them. It’s not up to well-meaning people to convince one of them that they have been assaulted and break up their marriage.”

 “There is no concrete event, just insatiable curiosity into private lives, piquing media speculations,” another comment reads. “The incident was hardly worth reporting but has been blown up into a major story.”

Looking at such frames highlights deeper social attitudes and complex questions. For example, is it wise to respect people’s privacy at all costs? It’s nice to say that what happens in the president’s bedroom is nobody’s business (as many French people do), but what if there really was abuse taking place? Brigitte Macron suffered much backlash for marrying her much younger ex-student. While this may (justifiably) raise eyebrows, are people not a lot less critical when the genders are reversed?

In the end, to me, ‘the slap’ was more than just a fleeting viral moment. It reflects society’s attitudes about power, gender, violence and privacy. The gossip that followed was not trivial, but an important form of sense making, shaped by how the media framed the event and how people revealed their own biases on what they saw, or thought they saw. By analyzing these reactions through the lens of gossip and framing, we don’t just learn about the Macrons, we learn about society and about ourselves.