France, May 13 -- The French presidency has dismissed as 'fake news' a viral conspiracy theory falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders were seen taking drugs on a train.

The Elysee Palace has hit back against "fake news" spread by "France's enemies" after social media accounts belonging to far-right figures and Russian officials falsely claimed that European leaders, including President Emmanuel Macron, were seen taking drugs on a train.

The baseless accusation made waves on X, originally stirred up by US radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, before being picked up by Russian officials such as foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The alleged incident involved genuine footage showing ...