The French president also criticized his interactions with the citizens of Mayotte after the nearby island of Madagascar was devastated by Cyclone Chido.
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Emmanuel Macron accused of sexist, racist and homophobic comments through the French newspaper Le Monde.
The report alleges that Macron told his former health minister, Aurélien Rousseau, last year: “The problem with [hospital] emergency departments in this country is that they are full of ‘Mamadous’. »
The term “Mamadou,” a popular call among men from West African Muslim ethnic groups, is used in France as a derogatory reference to a user of color.
The Élysée has issued a furious denial, with an official saying: “The Elysee strongly denies these reported remarks, which were not subjected to any verification by the presidency before publication.”
He also accused sexism after allegedly referring to female politicians as “cocoettes,” a French slang term for a promiscuous woman or prostitute.
It is said he used the term to refer to Marine Tondelier, the leader of the country’s green party, and Lucie Castets, who the Left wanted to nominate for prime minister.
The newspaper said Macron also nicknamed the French prime minister’s official apartment “la Cage aux Folles. “It is a popular French film about a gay couple who ran a nightclub, when Gabriel Attal, who is gay and had been appointed last January, held the position.
Opposition leaders on both sides condemned the reported comments, with Tondelier posting on X: “We learned of incredibly shocking homophobic comments from the President of the Republic towards Gabriel Attal. Today those are sexist comments. . . We are looking forward to tomorrow. ”
It comes after he was heckled by angry residents of a Mayotte neighbourhood ravaged by cyclone Chido, telling them: “If it wasn’t for France, you’d be 10,000 times deeper in s***”.
Nearly a week after the typhoon began, a lack of drinking water was testing nerves in France’s poorest territory, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Authorities have reported that at least 35 other people were killed by the cyclone, but many more are feared to have died.
He told one resident: “Don’t pit other people against other people. If you pit other people against other people, we’re screwed. He is satisfied to be in France. Without France, they would be much further behind. Shit, 10,000 times over, there is nowhere in the Indian Ocean where other people get that much help. »
At home, opposition MPs pounced on those comments. “I don’t think the president will find exactly the right words to please our colleagues at Mayotte who, with this kind of expression, feel that they are being treated differently,” said Sebastien Chenu of the far-right National Rally group.
Hard-left politician Eric Coquerel said Mr Macron’s comment was “completely undignified”.
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Emmanuel Macron accused of making racist comments to his former Health Minister
Emmanuel Macron has been accused of making a racist remark to his former health minister
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