Demonstrators interrupted French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday as he gave a speech on European sovereignty during a state visit to the Netherlands.
The 45-year-old French leader has faced a series of protests in France against pension reform, with another strike day scheduled for Thursday.
Where is French democracy? When did we lose it?’ shouted the demonstrators, who were among the audience at the Amare theater in The Hague, where Macron began his speech, AFP journalists reported.
Macron’s speech in The Hague starts awkwardly, interrupted by two people holding protest banners and being escorted out of the room https://t.co/nO3Gs97Hl0
– Maria Tadeo (@mariatad) April 11, 2023
Speech Macron in The Hague interrupted for a few minutes https://t.co/mPqUIM9f4Y
– Willem Middelkoop (@wmiddelkoop) April 11, 2023
Two protesters held a yellow banner with the phrase “President of Violence and Hypocrisy”, while another held a blue banner.
“I can answer that question if you give me some time,” Macron replied.
Security elements removed the demonstrators from the site about a minute after the protest started.
A group of about two dozen protesters also chanted slogans outside the theater ahead of Macron’s speech.
Small protest (and lots of police) outside the Macron speech room in The Hague pic.twitter.com/O5qT9TgL0A
– Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) April 11, 2023
The French head of state reiterated that it is “very important to have a social debate”. “I can answer any questions you may have about what we are discussing in France,” he assured.
He also said that people who do “whatever (they) want” go against laws they disagree with “endanger democracy”.
Macron is tackling the biggest challenge of his second term in key pension reforms, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 and requiring people to work harder to get paid in full.
Source: DN
