By: Rajini KG
August 18 2023
Video extract shared to claim Putin snubbed a handshake with French President
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The viral video of Putin allegedly ignoring Macron is edited. The longer version clearly shows Putin greeting Macron.
Claim ID fc72e8e2
Context
A video claiming to show Russian President Vladimir Putin snubbing a handshake with French President Emmanuel Macron has been circulating on social media. The video also shows several other prominent leaders from other countries standing next to Macron as Putin greets them.
An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the video (archive here) and wrote, "Putin SNUBS Macron's handshake in front of his wife." The 20-second video shows Putin walking towards the podium where Macron, the First Lady of France, and other leaders are standing. He greets France's First Lady, Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron; after that, he skips Macron, who stands next to Brigitte, and he moves to greet the then Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, before moving to former U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump. The same video has been shared on Facebook (archive here) with similar narratives.
Screengrab of the claim (Source: X/@jacksonhinkle)
However, this viral clip features an edited clip taken out of context from the event. Putin did not snub Macron at this event.
In fact
We conducted a reverse image search and found the longer version of the viral video dated November 11, 2018, on AFP's (Agence France-Presse) YouTube channel. The YouTube video was titled "Centenary 14-18: Trump and Putin under the Arc de Triomphe." According to the video description, world leaders had gathered to commemorate the centennial of the armistice of World War I. At the 0:29 time stamp, we can see Putin shaking hands with Macron first; he then greets Brigitte Macron, Angela Merkel, Donald Trump, and Melania Trump in that order. Later, he stands next to Brigitte Macron. The video description reads that Putin arrived separately to attend the World War I armistice memorial.
AFP's video from the event shows Putin shaking Macron's hand (Source:YouTube/AFP)
The same video, but from a different angle, was uploaded on France 24’s YouTube channel on November 11, 2018. At about 0:53 seconds into the video, Macron is seen lending his hand to greet Putin. The title in French says, "Centenary of the 1918 Armistice: Arrival of Vladimir Putin at the Arc de Triomphe." The same video was also uploaded on YouTube by C-Span and EuroNews.
Screengrabs from AFP and FRANCE 24 broadcasts show Putin shaking Macron's hand.
(Source: YouTube/AFP, FRANCE 24. Altered by Logically Facts)
The French Embassy in India noted that more than 120 world leaders attended the centennial commemoration of the ending of the First World War. The leaders met at Arc de Triomphe, a monument in Paris, on November 11, 2018. It also mentions that the leaders then inaugurated the first session of the Paris Peace Forum at Grande Halle de la Villette.
The verdict
The video of Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting other world leaders during the centenary of the ending of the First World War in Paris has been cropped and shared with false narratives. Claims that Putin ignored Emmanuel Macron during the event are incorrect. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.