During his meeting with Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron had chosen to refuse the PCR test carried out by the Russian authorities and to keep a safe distance from the Russian president.
On a trip to Russia, Emmanuel Macron aimed to ease tensions and avoid a war between Russians and Ukrainians. Welcomed by Vladimir Putin, the French head of state and his Russian counterpart broached the subjects… seated from one end of a 5-meter-long table to the other in a reception hall in the Kremlin.
This distance between the two men is explained by the application of a strict health protocol put in place by Putin. Indeed, Russia has imposed a PCR test on all visitors since the start of the pandemic. What Emmanuel Macron would have refused. “We could not accept that they recover the DNA of the president”, explained two sources of the Élysée to Reuters. But what could explain this fear?
A nasopharyngeal sample (PCR) makes it possible to harvest cells present in the wall of the nose. Thus, DNA is present inside.
Nevertheless, genetic tests for DNA research are done more orally, “with a larger swab which recovers more cells and a dedicated transport medium”, detailed Arnaud Caussanel, director of biology and innovation projects at Unilabs France.
A humiliation?
If the Russians had taken Emmanuel Macron’s DNA, they would have “kept it in a database (…) This is in line with American science fiction films. With silicone papillary impressions, anyone can pass as anyone. Can you imagine if we do it with a head of state? ”, explained Sergei Jirnov, former spy of the Russian secret service of the KGB to the Dispatch.
“By demanding a PCR test on the spot by Russian doctors, it was also a means of pressure on the part of Putin to create psychological discomfort in Macron before he entered the room to discuss. It was a humiliation. It’s crisp and clear,” he added.
According to the media, the Russian Embassy in France could “neither confirm nor deny this version of the facts” so far.
