On May 26, the French president traveled to Vietnam to kick off his diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia. He was accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron. Barely had the tour begun when the presidential couple sparked controversy on social media.

Brigitte Macron's slap to the president has set off alarms in France. The age difference is becoming increasingly noticeable, and the river of rumors that has always surrounded the couple is once again gaining strength.

The French president has met with his Indonesian counterpart as Emmanuel Macron pressed on with a week-long trip to Southeast Asia focused on strengthening regional ties in an increasingly unstable global landscape.

France and Indonesia have signed a preliminary defence pact that could lead to new orders of French military equipment including Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene submarines, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday.

Emmanuel Macron has played down a video of him being pushed in the face by his wife Brigitte, as the couple prepared to leave their plane to begin their tour of South East Asia.

Instead of "applying pressure on the jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state," the Foreign Ministry said.

French President Emmanuel Macron is delivering a keynote address on Friday to open the Shangri-La Dialogue global security forum in Singapore, attended by world leaders, diplomats and top defence officials including US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that Washington faces a "credibility test" over its response to Russia dragging its feet on a Ukraine ceasefire. Moscow has rebuffed calls for an immediate ceasefire and kept up an intense bombardment of Ukraine even as diplomatic efforts to end the war have gained momentum.