Donald Trump offers Emmanuel Macron marriage advice after getting 'slapped' by his wife

"Make sure the door remains closed," he quipped to reporters in the Oval Office.

The US President went on to pour cold water on speculation about a rift in the pair's marriage, saying: "They're fine. They're two really good people I know very well."

Footage shot in Hanoi showed Macron standing alone as the plane's door opened.

Suddenly, the arms of his wife, who was off-camera, could be seen through the doorway emerging from the left before she pushed him in the face with both hands.

Macron appeared taken aback but swiftly regained his composure and turned to wave through the open door.

The couple then walked down the plane's staircase without Brigitte taking her husband's hand.

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Footage of the incident, along with photographs of Macron appearing to look angry, quickly spread on social media.

The Elysee Palace initially claimed the footage was AI-generated, only to later admit the images were real but were in fact a sign of "closeness" and horseplay after a 16-hour flight.

"It was a moment when the President and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh. It was a moment of closeness," said an Elysee aide.

Macron later blamed "crackpot" conspiracy theorists for seeking to intensify rumours around the state of his marriage.

In a bid to quell speculation, Macron and his wife made light of the shoving incident as they arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday.

The French President performed a tongue-in-cheek wave for the cameras before appearing at the top of the stairs laughing.

Instead of a shove, after a few seconds of suspense, Brigitte appeared, all smiles.

The couple then locked arms, and descended the stairs side-by-side to greet officials.

Addressing the shoving incident, Macron said: "My wife and I were squabbling, or rather we were joking, and I was taken by surprise. Now it has become a kind of planetary catastrophe, and some are even coming up with theories."