FRANCE has blasted a fake Russian claim that President Emmanuel Macron had a bag of cocaine when he was pictured on his way to Kyiv at the weekend.
Macron, sitting on a train alongside Keir Starmer and Germany‘s Friedrich Merz, was filmed with a tissue in his hand – but pro-Kremlin troublemakers have peddled a lie online that it was cocaine.
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The Élysée Palace – the president’s official residence – was forced to come out and deny the fake news.
A spokesperson wrote on X: “When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs.
“This fake news is being spread by France‘s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation.”
The trio of leaders travelled together to Kyiv to show their unified support for Ukraine – and demanded Russia agrees to a full, 30-day ceasefire.
Whilst riding on the night train, they posed for photos sitting round a table.
At one point, Macron subtly grabs a tissue from the table and hides it beneath his arm.
Pro-Russian social media accounts initiated the cocaine conspiracy theory – which spread rapidly online.
One account posted on X: “Macron, Starmer and Merz caught on video on their return from Kiev. A bag of white powder on the table.
“Macron quickly pockets it, Merz hides the spoon. No explanation given.”
Even Russia‘s foreign ministry even poured petrol on the flames, when its spokesperson Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram that “a Frenchman, an Englishman and a German” had been spotted with cocaine paraphernalia on a train.
She wrote: “The fate of Europe is being decided by utterly (drug) dependent individuals.
“It’s as if the Almighty Himself is lifting the veil on this putrid spectacle.”
She also repeated a well-worn Kremlin lie that Zelensky is an “unstable cocaine addict” – and claimed a western diplomat had told her that drug use is widespread amongst European leaders.
Alongside the rebuttal, Macron’s X account posted a photo of him, Starmer and Merz shaking hands, captioned: “This is European Unity.”
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This month, France said that Russia’s military intelligence service had cranked up an online smear offensive against Macron.
France’s foreign ministry said: “It infiltrates French digital networks with two aims: collecting intelligence for the benefit of the Kremlin and destabilising our society by creating distrust.”
While gathered in Kyiv, the European leaders made a call to President Trump, and they collectively threw their weight behind a stern demand for Russia to make a deal.
Starmer said after the meeting: “So all of us here together with the US are calling Putin out. If he is serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it.”
Russia initially dismissed the warning, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying: “We hear many contradictory statements from Europe.
“They are generally confrontational in nature rather than aimed at trying to revive our relations. Nothing more.”
