• French President Macron denies drug use claims during a train trip to Ukraine.
• French presidency labels the allegations as a coordinated disinformation campaign.
• Claims originated from foreign entities, including Russian officials.

In a viral video, French President Emmanuel Macron was accused of hiding a pouch containing cocaine while traveling to Ukraine with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, these claims were quickly dismissed as "absurd conspiracies" by French media, which clarified that the pouch was merely a rolled-up tissue, not illicit drugs, according to Indiatimes.

The French presidency described the allegations as a coordinated disinformation campaign, asserting that it was intended to undermine European unity. The Elysee stated, "When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs," and emphasized the need for vigilance against such manipulative tactics, according to TRT Global and AA.

Speculation about the video's contents began circulating on social media, with figures like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Russian officials promoting the narrative that Macron and his colleagues were engaging in drug use. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was particularly noted for spreading the claims, which were framed as satire about Western leaders, according to The Local and South China Morning Post.

The backlash against these accusations includes a definitive statement from the French presidency, which identified the item in question as a harmless tissue and included visual evidence to support their claims. This denial was echoed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who posited that such narratives are meant to foster distrust and distract from peace efforts regarding Ukraine, as also reported by AA and Indiatimes.