Raoult shared with Macron his latest results, based on a larger sample of patients, according to an Elysee official.

“A visit doesn't legitimize a scientific protocol, a visit marks interest by the head of state, for the executive, for clinical trials, whether they are promising or not,” the official said.

Hydroxychloroquine is part of four treatments currently tested in an EU-wide clinical trial.

Officials in Macron's office denied he was getting ahead of the results of those clinical trials, bowing to popular pressure or politicizing the issue despite Raoult's lightning rod profile.

Instead they said his visit was part of wide consultations he is undertaking as he prepares a major speech on his lockdown exit strategy and coronavirus treatments on Monday evening.

Raoult has become a media sensation, with cult-like following. He has garnered strong supports among Macron's opponents, who use Raoult's name to criticize the crisis management from the French government.

No press pool was allowed to accompany Macron on his trip to Marseille, but a video posted on social media show medical staff at the hospital where Raoult works protesting during Macron's visit, demanding protective gear.

Raoult’s research has been hailed by President Donald Trump as potentially game-changing remedy for Covid-19, even though the publisher of a paper he co-authored on his recommended treatment regimen withdrew its support this week.

The study did not meet the journal’s “expected standard,” the publisher wrote in a statement.