Images of French President Macron partying with British pop star Elton John at Paris’s Accor arena on Wednesday night as cities across the country experienced severe urban violence have been used by his critics.
France has seen its third night of massive rioting, and President Emmanuel Macron’s belated moves to give the matter attention has needled some who believe he has been asleep at the wheel. A prime example cited is his taking time out to party with Elton John (pictured, above, in a file photo from 2019) in Paris on Wednesday, the second night of unrest, where he danced and posed for pictures.
Midi Libre newspaper confirmed the presence of the French President at the concert in a Fact-Check piece, noting the “strong reaction, in a particularly tense context” to the President’s choice of activity Wednesday night among French internet users.
Broadcaster LBC cites right-wing populist MEP Thierry Mariani, who cited Ecclesiastes 10:16 (“Woe to thee, O land, when thy king [is] a child”) and said: “While France was on fire, Macron was not at the side of his Minister of the Interior or the police… everyone has their own priorities!”.
Even as violence intensified Macron left the country for a European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels. Apparently belatedly realising his mistake, President Macron cancelled a media conference and left the crunch talks on immigration policy and Russia early to rush back to Paris to appear present.
Addressing the nation, Macron chose to blame social media and computer games for the violence, calling on tech companies to censor content to calm the riots responding to the death of a teenager in a Paris suburb at the hands of a police officer. Macron has asked public transport operators to shut down all buses and trams tonight as the country heads into a defacto overnight curfew.