FACT CHECK: Do These Photos Show Emmanuel Macron After A Phone Call With Vladimir Putin?
A post shared on Facebook purportedly shows images of French President Emmanuel Macron after a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Verdict: False
The photos were taken on three separate occasions. There is no evidence to suggest they show Macron after a call with Putin.
Fact Check:
Macron had a March 3 phone call with Putin that left him convinced Russia intends to invade all of Ukraine, according to The New York Times. Macron has received praise for his diplomatic efforts to end the current conflict in Ukraine, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A set of images shared on Facebook appears to show Macron in his office visibly distressed. “The Élysée Palace released images of French President Macron after his call with Putin, regarding the invasion of Ukraine,” the post’s caption claims.
However, all three images were taken on different occasions and two of them were taken prior to the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Emmanuel Macron As A Child Dancing With His Now-Wife?)
The pictures were taken by Soazig de la Moissonnière, Macron’s official photographer, and can be found on her Instagram page. The first picture was taken on Feb. 9 with a French-language caption that translates to, “Green room – End of meeting and almost end of day.”
View this post on Instagram
The other two photos were taken on Feb. 18 and Mar. 4 respectively. Both were taken in the “Golden room” while Macron was on international phone calls, according to their captions.
Macron’s Feb. 18 call involved multiple world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and President of the European Council Charles Michel, NATO reports. The group discussed Russia’s military buildup around Ukraine at the time, according to the organization’s readout. Macron spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson March 4 to discuss the war in Ukraine, according to a U.K. government press release.
There is no evidence to suggest the photos show Macron after speaking with Putin. There are no credible news reports to suggest the two presidents spoke on any of the three days the photos featured in the Facebook post were taken. The two leaders did speak by phone on Feb. 3, 20, 24, 28 and March 3 and 6, according to reports.
