Fact Check: Screengrab Does NOT Document A Macron Presidential Plane Attendant With A 'Ripped Bloody Shoulder'

Normal Arm

Does a social media video authentically show a flight attendant with a "ripped bloody shoulder" on the top platform of the airstair when French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife arrived at Hanoi International Airport on May 25, 2025? No, that's not true: Footage of that moment captured by credible news agencies showed a scarf or patch on her shoulder. Plus, even the video used to make the claim shows her moving the supposedly damaged arm in a natural way. A bloody flight attendant or ground crew member at the scene of a presidential arrival would have been noted by reporters on the scene, especially since Macron and his wife appeared to tussle as the door to the jet opened. The shove became a topic of memes, fact checks and news coverage, but evidence-based reporting did not include any ripped and bloodied participant in Macron's arrival.

The claim appeared in a May 26, 2025 X.com post (archived here) on the @CaptKylePatriot account, captioned "I can't stop watching this, check it out in slow motion. All of their faces😆". It continued:

Check out the stewardess's ripped bloody shoulder😳

@CaptKylePatriots

This is what the post looked like on X at the time this fact check was written:

(Source: X.com screenshot by Lead Stories.)

Lead Stories examined Reuters coverage of Macron's arrival. That video (archived here) clearly shows the woman with a supposedly "ripped bloody shoulder" moves her arm naturally, starting about 13 seconds into the video, as she performs her duties on the airstair in a blue uniform with some flash of color on the left shoulder. It's partially obscured by the fluorescent green safety vest she wears over the uniform:

(Source: Reuters.com screenshot by Lead Stories.)

News videos from the Daily Mirror and ABC World News clearly show the geometric, not ripped, outline of a scarf or patch worn on the left shoulder of the person attending Macron's disembarking from the presidential jet:

(Source: Daily Mirror YouTube channel and ABC World News Tonight screenshots made into graphic by Lead Stories.)

Lead Stories found no evidence-based reporting on a shoulder injury, using Google News' index of thousands of news sites:

(Source: Google News screenshot by Lead Stories.)

Readers can find more Lead Stories fact checks about Macron here.

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