Macron Ukraine train cocaine claim fails sniff test
Kate Atkinson
May 15, 2025
WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A video shows French President Emmanuel Macron hiding a bag of cocaine.
OUR VERDICT
False. He was picking up a white tissue.
AAP FactCheck – False claims about French President Emmanuel Macron hiding a supposed bag of cocaine on a train on the way to Ukraine are being promoted by pro-Russian social media accounts.
However, high-resolution footage and photos of the scene show that the object Mr Marcon picked up and hid was a scrunched-up tissue, and his office has dismissed the claim.
The claim is based on a video showing the French president, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer greeting each other as they travel on a train.
The claim is contained in social media posts featuring a clip of Mr Macron hiding a small white object and Mr Herz hiding a small slender object as the trio sit for a photo opportunity for journalists.
A low-resolution version of the video appears in a Facebook post1 from a New Zealand account.
“COCAINEGATE,” the caption says.
“The globalist leaders of France, Britain and Germany met this weekend, with footage showing French President Emmanuel Macron grabbing and hiding what appears to be a bag of cocaine while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hides a small spoon-like object.”
Another Instagram 2post claims: “Trending: On the way back from Kyiv, journalists unexpectedly entered the leaders’ cabin. German advisor Merz hid a spoon used for c_caine, while French President Macron concealed a bag of it.”
The false claim was amplified by right-wing figures such as Alex Jones3 and shared widely in Russian media, including RIA Novosti4, Russia Today5, Eurasia Daily6 and Pravda7.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram8 that the leaders used cocaine together and referenced a previously-debunked claim9 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy admitted to being a drug addict.
However, high-quality footage 10and photographs 11published by the Associated Press12 and Agence France-Press13 show that the alleged bag of cocaine is a tissue, while the “spoon” is actually a drink stirrer.
The French president’s office issued a statement on X 14confirming the white object was a tissue and said “fake news” is being spread by the country’s enemies. A German government spokesperson told EuroVerify 15the claims were “absurd”.
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Mr Merz’s party, also said the white object was a tissue in a statement on X16 in German.
“It’s actually just a tissue,” the translated statement reads.
The UK PM’s official spokesman also described the claims as “misinformation”.
“We’ve obviously seen attempts like this in the past, particularly emanating from the Russian state, as it increasingly becomes more desperate in relation to the war in Ukraine,” he told The Independent17.
The three European leaders were not leaving Ukraine as many posts claimed, but were travelling from Poland to Kyiv.
The leaders joined Mr Zelenskiy in calling on Russia to agree to a ceasefire, the BBC reported18.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network19. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads20, X, BlueSky21, TikTok22 and YouTube23. (AAP)
