Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, was accused of concealing a cocaine packet during his visit to Ukraine after a video went viral. Using the phrase “absurd conspiracy” to refute the rumour, the French media confirmed that the item was indeed a handkerchief.
A video of French President Emmanuel Macron travelling to Ukraine by train went viral on social media for all the wrong reasons after some users claimed he was concealing a cocaine packet
Online rumours abound after seeing the brief video. Macron and other European leaders were indirectly accused of drug use by a Russian official, which fueled the flames.
On a train to Kyiv, the French President was spotted with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz, the leader of the German opposition.
From Poland, the three leaders travelled to Ukraine. Videos of Macron seemingly stealthily taking a tiny white pouch off the table have been all over social media.
Another white device, which internet users dubbed a “cocaine spoon” since it is used for nasal insufflation, was spotted in the vicinity of Merz in the video. The accusations were then fact-checked by French media sources. After looking into the footage, the journalistic organisation Liberation released a report.
According to French magazine Liberation, the object in front of Merz might have been a stirrer or a toothpick, but it was a handkerchief, which is visible in high-quality photos.
According to a translation, Liberation stated, “The straw looked more like a toothpick or a stirrer, which the German chancellor is said to have been fiddling with.”
“These conspiracy accusations fit with the narrative that Western elites are depraved and approach war unconsciously,” Liberation said. “This is not the case.”
High-quality images and video from news organisations like AFP and AP demonstrated that the purported “white powder pouch” was only a handkerchief, according to Liberation. Before Keir Starmer came in, it had been wrapped up and set on the table.
Turkiye Today claims that the rumour began when Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented on the video.
“A Frenchman, an Englishman, and a German,” she wrote on Telegram, accusing the three leaders of using cocaine and failing to take down the proof before reporters arrived. Zakharova also denounced Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, as an” unstable cocaine addict.”
She claimed that she had once been informed by a Western official that drug usage by European leaders was “normal”. Her remarks created a story on the internet, leading many to speculate about her potential drug use without any official evidence.