Emmanuel Macron’s communications team is in disarray over the Brigitte “shove”, with splits reportedly emerging on how to handle the furore over viral footage of France’s first couple in an apparent marital dispute in Vietnam.

The video in question showed Mrs Macron raising her hand and pushing her husband’s face moments before they stepped off their presidential jet to be greeted by delegates in Hanoi on Sunday evening.

With online reaction snowballing, the Elysée initially suggested that it was fake, AI-generated footage.

In a sharp reversal, it later admitted that the images were real, but that claims France’s first couple were having some kind of dispute were wide of the mark.

“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 Elysée aide.

The panicked reaction – and U-turn – reflected simmering “tensions within the Elysée’s communications unit”, according to state radio channel France Info.

One Macron ally told the channel that the Élysée “ballsed up” by first talking about fake images.