25 Apr, 2019
After delivering a speech addressing numerous social issues tied to France’s burgeoning protest movement, the Yellow Vests, Macron’s press conference took an odd turn when he laid into the French Muslim population.
“We are talking about people who, in the name of a religion, pursue a political project,” he said. “A political Islam that wants to secede from our Republic,” against which he asked the government to be “intractable.”
Macron also gave a ringing defense of French secularism, and called out “communitarianism.”
“We must not hide ourselves when we talk about secularism, we do not really talk about secularism, we talk about the communitarianism that has settled in certain districts of the Republic,” Macron said, referring to Muslim communities.
French citizens gave mixed reactions on social media to the president’s remarks, some posing their own questions in response.
Crise sociale #Macron ns parle de communautarisme, d’islam! what about??? Si c’est pr encore plus prendre les français pr des abrutis en les manipulants la diversion ça ne marche plus! Vs n’avez pas honte @EmmanuelMacron ?😡😡😡😡 #GiletsJaune #ConférenceDePresse
— CitoyenneDuMonde (@fleurdejasmin81) April 25, 2019
Macron est passé de " rempart contre l'extrême droite " a " c'est la faute de l'islam " très vite mais heureusement c'est trop gros pour que les gens se fassent avoir
#conferencedepresse— Moha Mentality (@MOHA__M) April 25, 2019