Brigitte Macron eased out young Élysée intern who tried to 'use seduction to get what she wanted', author claims after he suggested actress texts led to Emmanuel 'slap'

By IMOGEN GARFINKEL - SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:31, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 15:56, 18 May 2026 Brigitte Macron eased a young female intern who tried to ‘use seduction to get what she wanted’ out of Élysée Palace, according to a new biography of France’s first couple. The claim is one of several made by Florian Tardif in ‘Un Couple (Presque) Parfait — An (Almost) Perfect Couple’, which shot straight to the top of France’s bestseller list after its release. In a radio interview to launch the book last week, the political journalist purported to know the true context behind the first lady’s notorious slap of the French president at Hanoi airport in May last year. The altercation was sparked when she saw a message on his phone from glamorous Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who Macron had allegedly been praising as ‘jolie’ (pretty) and ‘magnifique’ (magnificent) in texts, he claimed. But the viral episode would not be the first time Brigitte had reacted angrily to a younger woman she felt was coming too close to her husband, according to the book. A close ally of the first lady allegedly told the author that the 73-year-old accelerated the departure of a female intern in her twenties, named ‘Scheherazade’ in the biography. This woman attempted, according to one official, ‘to use seduction to get what she wanted’: a job in the Élysée Palace. As well as making sure that woman was ousted from Macron’s orbit, she also ‘got rid’ of another female adviser a few years later. France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron pictured in Athens in April He told Les Grandes Gueules: 'There are advisors applying for positions at the Élysée. And in the HR process, the final interview is with the first lady. She’s wary.' Tardif even accused her of dismissing a candidate after stealing a look at one of Macron’s adviser’s phones. She reportedly declared: 'Her, she’s not getting in.' In the viral video from May last year, the first lady was seen pushing the French president in the face as the couple prepared to get off a plane in Vietnam. At the time, Macron insisted the incident was 'nothing', and said he was just 'bickering, or rather joking, with my wife'. Tardif called the notorious moment a classic 'couple's scene'. 'What happened is that she [Brigitte Macron], saw a message from a well-known figure. An Iranian actress: Golshifteh Farahani,’ he said. Tardif claims that Macron maintained a 'platonic' relationship with the acclaimed star 'for a few months', but sent her 'messages that went quite far', such as: 'I find you very pretty.' Born in Tehran, Farahani is a 42-year-old actress who now lives in exile after refusing to wear a hijab while acting in international films.  'That's what I've been told by those close to him, and that's what I'm saying this morning,' Tardif said in the interview, insisting he has 'verified' the story and that everything in his book is based on 'facts'. These messages caused 'tension' within the couple, culminating in a heated and 'significant' argument aboard the presidential plane on the tarmac at Hanoi airport, the journalist claimed. 'This private scene became public because there was a misunderstanding on the plane. We thought the argument was over. It wasn't,' he concluded. Tardif claimed the Elysee actually regretted not being honest about the dispute, 'simply because they could have shown at that moment that they were a couple, a real couple, not a perfect couple'. At the time, an Elysee official described the episode as 'a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh'. Brigitte Macron's representatives denied to Le Parisien that the slap was linked to the Iranian actress and further emphasised that the French first lady would never check her husband's phone. Born in Tehran, Farahani is a 42-year-old actress who now lives in exile after refusing to wear a hijab while acting in international films 'Brigitte Macron categorically denied this account directly to the author on March 5, specifying that she never looks at her husband's mobile phone,' the president's entourage said, adding that this detail had not been published by the author. This is not the first time rumours surrounding Macron and Farahani have surfaced. The actress has previously dismissed any speculation, however, telling Gala magazine last year: 'It comes in waves, it appears, disappears... I watch, I observe: what can I do? It doesn't even bother me. What's the point?' She added: 'The question is why people are interested in this kind of story. I think there's a lack of love in some people, and they need to create such romances to fill that void.' In 2008, Farahani became the first Iran-based actor to have a role in a Hollywood film since the 1979 revolution, starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Ridley Scott’s CIA thriller Body of Lies. She was then banned from working in Tehran by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, for not wearing a headscarf at the film's New York premiere. In 2011, she was again condemned by the regime after bearing her breast in a short video to promote the Césars, the ‘French Oscars’, where she had been nominated for her role in the immigrant comedy 'Si Tu Meurs, Je Te Tue' (If You Die, I'll Kill You). The short black-and-white promo had each actor remove an item of clothing as they stared into the camera to commit their ‘body and soul’ to their art. Farahani chose to show her right breast, saying: ‘I will put flesh to your dreams.’ That same day, the Islamic Republic’s official Fars news agency issued a communique attacking her, saying that the pictures showed the ‘hidden, disgusting face of cinema’. Following the anti-regime protests in Tehran in January, where tens of thousands of civilians were killed by the authorities, she took to Instagram to share her solidarity with her home country. ‘Iran is on fire once again. My heart beats with the people of Iran,' she wrote. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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