Can this really be la belle France, which gave us such classic images as the young Brigitte Bardot smoking a cigar and Audrey Hepburn holding a cigarette holder as long as a magician's wand?
The moment at the airplane door became viral, when the First Lady appeared to slap the French president following their touchdown in Vietnam for a state visit.
There is no man better for flagornerie than the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who can make the most blatant exercise in sucking-up sound ornate and rather Louis Quatorze.
Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron's 'death clasp' handshakes have gone viral over the years, with footage from 2017 showing the two leaders locking hands for 29 seconds straight.