Emmanuel Macron’s office has condemned the fake news surrounding the French president’s alleged carrying of a pack of cocaine during his visit to Ukraine last weekend.
The fake news emerged when Macron was caught on camera discreetly removing a crumpled white object from a table while visiting Kyiv with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer last Saturday (May 10).
The Elysee Palace posted on its official social media account, insisting that the white object was a tissue paper.
The post stated, “This is a tissue paper used for blowing the nose.” It was accompanied by a photo of the leaders and the caption: “European unity, building peace.”
The post claimed this was the work of “enemies of France” spreading false information. Although the post did not specifically name the targets, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was among those online spreading the rumor.
France had previously stated that Russia was waging a “silent war” through cyberattacks.
The post, written in French and English, stated, “We must be vigilant against manipulation when European unity is not strong, false information can even make a simple tissue paper look like drugs.”
In recent weeks, the French presidential palace has taken a tougher stance against fake news on the internet, which seems to correlate with the appointment of Macron’s new spokesperson, Jean-Noël Ladois. A palace official stated, “Fake news must be refuted as soon as they appear to prevent them.”
The Elysee Palace also countered another piece of fake news last month, which claimed that President Trump had excluded Macron during a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the Vatican.
On May 10, with the support of President Trump, Ukraine and European leaders reached an agreement to begin a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting May 12, with new extensive sanctions to be imposed on Putin if he violates the agreement. This is seen as a significant signal of increasing unity among Western countries on resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Previously, on April 30, there was a major breakthrough in US-Ukraine relations, bridging a dispute between President Trump in the Oval Office and Zelensky, signing a mineral resources agreement that took a crucial step towards ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
(This article referenced a report from POLITICO)