French President Emmanuel Macron said in a podcast episode aired on Monday that both the right-wing National Rally (RN) party and the left-wing New Popular Front alliance, leading the parliamentary election, risked bringing “civil war” to France.
Macron told the podcast “Generation Do It Yourself” that the manifesto of the RN party – which election pollsters put in first place – and its solutions to tackle fear over crime and immigration were based on “stigma or division.”
“I think the solution offered by the far right is unquestionable, because it classifies people based on their religion or origin, and that’s why it leads to division and civil war,” he said in the podcast.
Macron also leveled similar criticism at a far-left party called France Unbowed (LFI), which is part of the New Popular Front coalition.
“But there is also a civil war behind this, because you are classifying people only based on their religious views or the community they belong to, which is in a way a means to justify separating them from the broader national community and, in this case, you will have a civil war with people who do not share the same values as you,” Macron said.
Asked to respond to Macron’s civil war comments, RN president Jordan Bardella — who is seen as a potential prime minister if the RN wins the most votes in the election — replied to M6 TV: “The president shouldn’t say that.”
France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also condemned Macron’s comments in an interview with France 2 TV, and said it is Macron’s own policies that are bringing about civil war. French President Emmanuel Macron said in a podcast episode shown on Monday that both the right-wing National Rally (RN) party and the left-wing New Popular Front coalition – leading in the parliamentary election – risked bringing “civil war” to France.
Macron told the podcast “Generation Do It Yourself” that the manifesto of the RN party – which election pollsters put in first place – and its solutions to tackle fear over crime and immigration were based on “stigma or division.”
“I think the solution offered by the far right is unquestionable, because it classifies people based on their religion or origin, and that’s why it leads to division and civil war,” he said in the podcast.
Macron also leveled similar criticism at a far-left party called France Unbowed (LFI), which is part of the New Popular Front coalition.
“But there is also a civil war behind this, because you are classifying people only based on their religious views or the community they belong to, which is in a way a means to justify separating them from the broader national community and, in this case, you will have a civil war with people who do not share the same values as you,” Macron said.
Asked to respond to Macron’s civil war comments, RN president Jordan Bardella — who is seen as a potential prime minister if the RN wins the most votes in the election — replied to M6 TV: “The president shouldn’t say that.”
France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also criticised Macron’s comments in an interview with France 2 TV and said it is Macron’s own policies that are bringing about civil unrest, such as in the French overseas territory New Caledonia.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
