"It's a handkerchief": the Elysée Palace forced to defuse fake news about Emmanuel Macron and cocaine

Viral videos claiming that Emmanuel Macron is trying to make a bag of cocaine disappear before an official photo with heads of state have circulated widely on social media, to the point where the Elysée Palace has had to deny it, claiming it is simply a handkerchief.

Emmanuel Macron taking lines of cocaine on the night train with German Chancellor Merz and British Prime Minister Starmer ? This is the imaginary scenario shared thousands of times on social media in recent hours, based on the fact that the President of the Republic briefly removed a piece of paper before an official photo with his German and British counterparts.

A piece of paper that isn't a bag of cocaine, but... a simple handkerchief. It was the official account of the Élysée Palace that had to respond to this rumor on the night of Sunday to Monday, given the scale of the sharing.

"When European unity becomes a problem, disinformation goes so far as to turn a simple handkerchief into a drug," the Elysée Palace said.

"This absurd fake news is being relayed by France's enemies, both within our borders and abroad. We must remain vigilant against manipulation," the tweet concludes.