Eva Deschamps / February 11, 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron refused, despite a Russian request, to undergo a coronavirus test during his visit to Vladimir Putin on Monday, which is why he was kept at arm's length by the Russian president, according to two sources in Macron's entourage.
The visit generated some comments, as the two presidents found themselves seated at one end of a table several meters long. It was suggested that Mr. Putin wanted to send a message.
But according to the two sources interviewed, Mr. Macron had a choice: either he submitted to a PCR test conducted by the local authorities, or he refused and then had to keep a greater distance from his Russian counterpart.
We knew very well that this meant that there would be no handshake and that there would be this long table, but we could not accept that they would get their hands on the president's DNA, said one of the two French sources.
The second source added that Mr. Macron underwent a PCR test before his departure and an antigen test by his own doctor after his arrival in Russia.