President Emmanuel Macron’s office has refuted “disinformation” after a video surfaced showing him awkwardly grabbing a small white item from a meeting table while sitting with British leader Kiel Starmer and German leader Friedrich Merz.
The leaders from Britain, France, and Germany secretly gathered on Friday evening for a joint event set for Saturday. They met in a travel council room frequently used by world leaders visiting Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict. Due to air combat making executive jet travel risky, the trio posed for a brief photo opportunity with accompanying journalists.
Once the photos and videos were shared, footage emerged of Macron at the conference table noticing a small white object, which he quickly pocketed. This led to claims on social media that it might be a bag of cocaine.
The rumor spread widely, surpassing even that of the French president’s office, which felt compelled to deny the claim. By sharing high-resolution images from the railway carriage, they clarified that the object in question was merely a tissue. The palace stated, “This is a tissue, meant for blowing one’s nose.”
They emphasized that the narrative suggesting Macron was concealing drug use, rather than simply preparing for photos with fellow leaders, is an act of “disinformation” aimed at disrupting Europe’s unity regarding Ukraine.
“This false information is being propagated by opponents of France, both abroad and domestically. We need to be cautious about such operations,” they remarked. Certain publications in France have controversially linked this narrative to Vladimir Putin.
These allegations concerning drug use among Ukraine’s high-ranking officials echo Russia’s enduring claims that their president may be involved with drugs. Over the weekend, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova referenced the footage, calling it “incredible,” likening it to a scene from the 1988 comedy Red Heat where Arnold Schwarzenegger portrays a Soviet police officer involved in a drug bust. Zakharova suggested that the fate of the world is being influenced by drug-addicted European leaders.
