Macron’s office dismisses drug allegations after ‘cocaine bag’ claims amid Kyiv train visit

Paris — The office of French President Emmanuel Macron has denounced as disinformation claims circulating online that he and other European leaders were using drugs during a recent train journey to Kyiv, calling the accusations a targeted attempt by France’s adversaries to undermine European unity.

The controversy arose after video footage posted online showed Macron seated in a train compartment alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In the clip, Macron is seen handling a crumpled white item from the table, which some social media users — without any supporting evidence — claimed to be a bag of cocaine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova further fueled the speculation by sharing the video on social media. However, officials from both Paris and Berlin swiftly rejected the allegation.

The Élysée Palace clarified that the item in question was simply a tissue. “When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation stoops to making a tissue look like drugs,” the president’s office said in a social media post, accompanied by a photo of the tissue and the caption: “This is a tissue. For blowing your nose.”

“This baseless claim is being spread by France’s enemies, both foreign and domestic,” the statement continued. “We must remain alert to such manipulative tactics.”

A spokesperson for the German government echoed the rejection, stating, “We dismiss this absurd accusation.” Germany’s CDU party, led by Merz, reinforced the message, writing on social media: “It is indeed just a tissue. Multiple actors are currently attempting to sway public opinion through disinformation. The enemies of democracy are actively trying to undermine European unity and social cohesion.”

The alleged incident occurred during a high-profile visit to Kyiv, where Macron, Merz, Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of solidarity more than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zakharova, commenting on Telegram, mocked the leaders with a jab: “As in the joke — a Frenchman, an Englishman, and a German boarded a train and... got high. Apparently, so much so that they forgot to remove their props before the journalists arrived.”

In response to growing concerns over foreign influence campaigns, France has stepped up efforts to counter online disinformation. The government’s Viginum watchdog now actively monitors Russia-linked accounts and suspected influence operations.

French officials have also voiced concern over the involvement of American far-right media in amplifying Russian narratives. “Our public debate is being bombarded with Russian propaganda, echoed by the American far-right,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot warned last week.