'Did a line' and 'forgot to hide': ‘Cocaine’ conspiracy theory accuses Macron, Starmer and Merz of drug use on train to Kyiv

French President Emmanuel Macron was seen picking up a white-coloured item from the table in a video shot inside a train from Poland to Kyiv. He was accompanied by Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Rumours started circulating that Macron hid a packet of cocaine.

Some Kremlin officials further fuelled them, openly alleging that the leaders were intoxicated. The Élysée Palace has slammed the claims as "disinformation", saying that it was only a piece of tissue paper.

Marcon, Merz, and Starmer were visiting Ukraine to show their support for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. The cocaine claims first popped up on pro-Russian social media channels. Later, a Kremlin spokesperson and another official also talked about it.

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“This fake news is being spread by France’s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation,” the Élysée posted on X.

The video shows the three leaders around a table as the cameras start rolling. Macron then picks up a white object from the table and later puts it in his pocket.

“This is a tissue. For blowing your nose,” the Élysée posted alongside an image from the meeting. “This is European unity. To build peace."

“When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs.”

Video of Macron allegedly picking up "cocaine"

The cocaine story received a further boost from user claims that Merz was holding a white cocaine spoon. In the video, he can be seen holding the alleged object fully in his hand.

Russian spokesperson claims the European leaders did cocaine

Among those who promoted the cocaine claim was the Kremlin’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, who posted about it on her Telegram channel.

“After pushing Zelensky into yet another hellish scheme to derail a settlement and prolong the bloodshed in Europe, it’s like a joke: a Frenchman, an Englishman, and a German got on a train – and did a line,” Zakharova wrote on Sunday.

Also Read: Ukraine's Zelensky ready for talks, but only if Russia agrees to a ceasefire

“Apparently, they were so out of it they forgot to hide the paraphernalia – a small bag and a spoon – before the journalists arrived. Europe’s fate is in the hands of placeholders who are dependent, in every sense of the word.”

Kirill Dmitriev, another Russian official, wrote under the video on X, “Is this footage AI or real? If it’s real – are we looking at sugar or something entirely different? If it’s something else, it explains a lot of recent ideas and proposals."

According to the western media, Russia is trying to sour relations between the US, Europe and Ukraine over pressure for a ceasefire.

Zakharova and other Russian officials had earlier claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was an “unstable cocaine addict”. They have often claimed that European leaders use cocaine.