- On Facebook, opponents of wearing a mask against Covid-19 are multiplying the arguments in this direction.
- Several viral posts relay the same photo of European leaders - including Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel - seated without respecting safety distances, and without wearing a mask, as proof that the epidemic "is only a political fake".
- Contrary to what they claim, the photo was not taken a few days ago but in October 2018. A photo taken during the recent European Council also shows the respect by these same leaders of certain barrier measures.
For opponents of wearing a mask against Covid-19, deeply convinced of its uselessness - even of its alleged danger to health -, the photo stands out as an exhibit.
How else to explain that Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Charles Michel or even Giuseppe Conte, seated close to each other, pose, all smiles, in front of the camera, without wearing any protection against the Covid-19?
“A photo taken this Monday… They know that all these so-called Covid stories are just a political fake… Mask ??? Distancing ??? Fine ??? MAKING FUN OF ??? REPLY ? BÉÉÉÉÉ… ”, thus affirms the caption of a Facebook post relaying this photo, which would have been taken a few days ago, on the occasion of the European summit organized in Brussels to negotiate a major economic recovery plan.
The snapshot was taken two years ago, however, long before the coronavirus epidemic. This is recognized by another post relaying the same image, but carrying another affirmation: “This photo is not that of this weekend, but another, taken on a terrace of the Grand-place in Brussels this weekend, shows us exactly the same attitude… I just have to find it, the restaurant which received them posted it. "
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The photo dates back more precisely to October 2018, on the occasion of the European Council at the time, also organized in Brussels. It had been posted directly on Facebook by Giuseppe Conte, President of the Italian Council.
A few days earlier, some of the same leaders had shared a drink on the Grand-Place in Brussels, which had given rise to another photo that went viral and to various press articles.
#onokad završi #EUCO a Merkel, Macron & co sjednu medju turiste u 23:00 na Grand-Place u centru Brisela i popiju pivo.
Jedino pitanje I - a gdje I @AndrejPlenkovic? :) # n1info pic.twitter.com/ONNnjDwd2I
“They met around midnight on the Grand-Place in Brussels, around a beer and fries: the German Angela Merkel, the French Emmanuel Macron, the Belgian Charles Michel [at the time Prime Minister and not yet president of the European Council] and Luxembourgish Xavier Bettel. The four leaders spent an hour together on the first evening of the European Council, the occasion for a relaxed "debrief", "said Europe 1 for example in an article entitled" When Macron, Merkel, Bettel and Michel drink a beer in midnight speaking Brexit ”.
A meeting on the terrace in the era of Covid-19 has taken place
Neither of the two pictures mentioned in these Facebook posts has therefore been taken in recent days. On the other hand, the negotiations around the European recovery plan did indeed give rise, on July 18, to a discussion between several leaders around a table on the terrace, as can be seen in the photo below.
And if masks were de rigueur at gatherings organized in closed spaces, only two people - including Angela Merkel - wore them during this meeting outside, while the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel or yet Emmanuel Macron abstained.
Each of the participants, on the other hand, stands at a certain distance from his neighbor, due to social distancing measures, while several bottles of hydroalcoholic gel are seen on the table.
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