Macron and Merz mixed up their wives during a photo session before the G7 summit

At a joint photo session ahead of the G7 summit, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz briefly mixed up their wives for a few seconds.

This was reported by the German magazine Stern.de.

According to the publication, the awkward moment may have been caused by the similar outfits worn by Brigitte Macron and Charlotte Merz. In the published video, Macron can be seen taking the hand of his wife, who was standing next to Merz, and guiding her toward himself. Charlotte Merz then took the vacated spot, after which the leaders continued to pose together with their spouses.

Earlier, etiquette expert Tatyana Baranova assessed the handshake between the US president and Brigitte Macron. According to her, the French leader’s wife was uncomfortable with the prolonged greeting: the initiative was one-sided, and Brigitte made several unsuccessful attempts to free her hand. Baranova also noted that the American leader frequently violates etiquette by pulling his interlocutor toward himself — which, in her opinion, may be a personal trait or an attempt at dominance.