The French president's office announced that the information spread that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz used cocaine during their recent visit to Ukraine is a disinformation campaign, "organized by the enemies of our country", Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
"Be vigilant against manipulation", the Elysee Palace warned overnight in two posts on the social network "Ex" – one in French and the other in English.
"When European unity is violated, disinformation goes so far as to present a simple handkerchief for drugs", the statement said in a comment on the shared photos in support of the accusations.
The French Foreign Minister, for his part, clearly pointed the finger at Russia.
"We see you! So desperate (trying) to hinder peace in Ukraine that you are now spreading outright lies," he wrote in English in "Ex".
Barrot attached to his comment footage of publications by Vladimir Putin's international economic envoy – Kirill Dmitriev and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The posts accusing Western European leaders of using drugs have been seen by millions of people on social media. They have been shared in French, English and Russian on the social platforms "Ex", "TikTok" and "Facebook".
The shared photos and video show Macron, Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a train carriage as they travel to Kiev for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 10.
The French president is seen picking up a white handkerchief from the table with his right hand before crossing his arms, hiding from the camera. At the same time, Merz picks up a small object.
Internet users claim to have seen a bag of cocaine on one side and a spoon used to use it on the other, which the two tried to hide.
AFP journalists present at the scene filmed the incident, and their photos show a paper handkerchief and an object that looks like a wooden spatula.
"This is a handkerchief. To blow your nose", the Elysee Palace ironically wrote in its publication.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Kiev's supporters, in particular France and Emmanuel Macron, have been regularly targeted by disinformation campaigns on social networks, AFP notes.
In a report published in early May, a French organization fighting foreign digital interference revealed nearly 80 operations carried out by "Russian entities" directed against the Ukrainian government and its allies.