A video of French President Emmanuel Macron seemingly hiding a suspicious white item went viral over the weekend, with social media users suggesting it was a pouch of cocaine.
Macron was on a train from Poland to Kyiv with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
A clip of them arriving at a table and Macron moving the item while smiling has been circulating on social media, sparking rumors. A Russian official added their voice, indirectly accusing Macron and the other European leaders of being drug users.
Folks on social media also claimed the white object seen near Merz was a “cocaine spoon” used to take the powder through one’s nose.
Emmanuel Macron Denies Cocaine Claims
Macron has since denied that the white item was a bag of cocaine, with his official residence, the Elysée Palace, noting via its official X account that it was simply crumpled tissue.“This is a tissue. For blowing your nose,” the account wrote as the caption to a photo of the item on the table.
“This is European unity. To build peace,” it captioned another photo showing the three leaders.
The Palace also accused enemies of France of spreading misinformation.
While France hasn’t called out anyone specifically, said Russian official, foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, shared some curious words after the video went viral as she claimed joked, “Looks like the Frenchman, the Englishman & the German boarded a train… and took a hit.
“The fate of Europe is in the hands of drugged, dependent, temporary figures,” she added.
The French government has, in recent times, taken a stronger stance against the spread of misinformation on the internet, following the appointment of Macron’s international spokesperson, Jean-Noël Ladois.
