Both the starting point of the mark in A, slightly before the A
-a minim, and the fact that it intersects the minim's stem, clearly indicate that it is related to this minim and, consequently, that it is an accent. This is also supported by the correction visible in A – in the preceding bar Chopin removed the 
hairpin under the L.H. part, which suggest a change of concept from a 
following a to an individual accent; at the same time, it explains its atypical length. Therefore, in the main text we reproduce the mark as a long accent. The literal interpretation can be considered an equal variant.
The absence of the mark in GE (→FE,EE,IE) is most probably the engraver's oversight.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources
issues: Long accents, Errors in GE
notation: Articulation, Accents, Hairpins