The visit generated some commentary, with the two presidents finding themselves seated at one end of a several-meter-long table. In particular, it has been 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 carried out by the local authorities, or he refused and then had to keep a greater distance from his Russian counterpart.
“We knew full well that meant there would be no handshakes and there would be this long table, but we couldn’t accept them getting their hands on the president’s DNA,” said one of the two French sources.
The second source added that Mr Macron had undergone a PCR test before his departure and an antigen test carried out by his own doctor after his arrival in Russia.