Just a tissue: Élysée Palace denies Russian claims that Macron took drugs in Kyiv
The French President's Office has dismissed fake news spread by the Russian propaganda machine alleging that European leaders were using narcotics aboard a Ukrainian Railways train en route to Kyiv, pointing out that the supposed "bag of cocaine" seen in the images was, in fact, a tissue used by President Emmanuel Macron.
Source: European Pravda, citing a post by the Élysée Palace on X (Twitter); Russian propaganda outlets and agencies on Telegram
Details: Following the release of footage from the leaders' trip to Kyiv, Russian propaganda outlets began circulating a fake story about a supposed "bag of white powder" on the table where Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer were seated.
The Russians pushed the "drug addicts" fake so aggressively that they not only cited scathing comments from Russian social media users but also quoted a substance abuse specialist to lend it false credibility.
Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan even claimed to have spotted not only a "bag" on the table but also a "cocaine spoon".
In reality, the video shows the French president tidying the table and simply putting a used, crumpled tissue into his pocket.
To debunk the Russian disinformation, the Élysée Palace released two photos from the train carriage used by the European leaders en route to Kyiv, each with explanatory captions.
The first photo shows a crumpled tissue on a table, captioned: "This is a tissue for blowing your nose." The second depicts representatives of European governments with the caption: "This is European unity to build peace."
Quand l’unité européenne dérange, la désinformation va jusqu’à faire passer un simple mouchoir pour de la drogue.
— Élysée (@Elysee) May 11, 2025
Cette fausse information est propagée par les ennemis de la France, à l’extérieur comme à l’intérieur. Vigilance face aux manipulations. pic.twitter.com/r62piC4jro
Quote: "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."
Background:
- On 11 May, Macron posted a behind-the-scenes video of the joint visit by European leaders to Kyiv which included footage of an early-morning phone call with Donald Trump.
- Earlier, sources told Politico that it was Macron who initiated the conversation by calling Trump in the early hours of the morning in Washington.
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