French government dismisses Macron cocaine claims

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has denied claims that he had a bag of cocaine with him during his weekend visit to Ukraine after social media users spotted what looked like the substance in a viral video.

In footage circulating on social media, Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer are seen posing for a photo while on a train to Kiev. The first few seconds show Macron subtly removing a crumpled white object from the table where the three are seated, while Merz appears to cover what social media users claimed looked like a cocaine spoon with his hands. Macron is then seen putting the object in his pocket, with multiple users noting he smiles guiltily while doing so.

The video has quickly gone viral and triggered widespread speculation online over whether the three officials were taking drugs during an official trip.

On its official X account, the Elysee Palace insisted the object in Macron’s hands was a tissue.

“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 post reads, alongside a zoomed-in screenshot of the object Macron removed.

While many note that the object does appear to be a simple tissue, more skeptical users quickly pointed out that Macron’s office only addressed that specific item, not the broader question of whether drugs were present during the trip. Some claimed the tissue shown in the image posted by Macron’s office appeared computer-generated or digitally altered, fueling further speculation. Many users also noted that Macron was acting strangely during the photoshoot, with some suggesting that he “appeared stoned.” 

There has been no official comment on the object that Merz appeared to conceal. Some media reports suggest it could be a coffee stirrer or a toothpick, while many social media users insist it is a snuff spoon used for inhaling powdered substances.

Commenting on the incident, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the video “opened the veil of the stinking Sabbath” of Western politics.

“Having pushed [Ukrainian leader Vladimir] Zelensky into another hellish intrigue to disrupt the settlement and continue the bloodshed in Europe, a Frenchman, an Englishman and a German boarded the train and… got stoned, just like the joke,” Zakharova wrote on Telegram, referring to the leaders’ visit to Ukraine. Following their talks, Zelensky demanded Russia accept Kiev’s call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire before agreeing to negotiations, which Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to start later this week in Istanbul. Moscow rejected what it described as foreign pressure surrounding the proposed truce.

“The fate of Europe is decided in every sense by drug addict placeholders,” Zakharova added. She also recalled that in 2022, after the Ukraine conflict escalated, she asked a Western ambassador how they could send weapons to Kiev amid reports that Zelensky was using cocaine. The diplomat, she said, told her it was “normal” to take drugs in the EU, and that many Western leaders used cocaine.

Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev also commented on the footage, writing on X that if the objects spotted by social media users are indeed drug-related, “it explains a lot of recent ideas and proposals” coming from Kiev’s Western backers.