Emmanuel Macron Seen Dancing At Elton John Concert Amid ...
Amidst escalating riots in French cities, President Emmanuel Macron has appealed to parents to keep teenagers at home to curb the unrest. However, Macron is now criticized for attending an Elton John concert while the disorder unfolded.
Following a 17-year-old's shooting by police on Tuesday during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, violent protests broke out.
As a result, widespread demonstrations erupted, with car burning, stone-throwing, and fireworks incidents.
Amid this crisis, concerns about President Macron's response and attendance at the concert on Wednesday, the day following the shooting, are raised.
Macron dancing in Elton John’s concert while Paris was burning - what has happened to the leaders of these days? pic.twitter.com/bZnpv0JYGV
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) June 30, 2023Calls for him to take more decisive action to address the situation are growing.
Elton John's husband shared photos on social media showcasing their meeting with Mr. Macron and his wife. Additionally, a video circulating on social media captured Mr. Macron tapping his feet to the performance of Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting."
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These instances have further fueled accusations from his opponents that Mr. Macron is aloof and disconnected from the public's realities."While France was on fire, Macron was not at the side of his minister of the interior or the police, but he preferred to applaud Elton John," said Thierry Mariani, an MEP for National Rally.
On Friday, Mr. Macron blamed social media for fuelling copycat violence and said it had played a "significant role in the past few days."In televised remarks from a crisis meeting, he mentioned TikTok and Snapchat.
"We sometimes have the feeling that some of them [rioters] are living in the streets of the video games that have intoxicated them," said the president.
Mr. Macron said he would try to remove "the most sensitive types of content" and ask the sites to reveal the identities of people promoting violence.
At least 667 people were arrested across France overnight following a third day of protests over the death of the teenager - named in local reports as Nahel M.
On Thursday, 40,000 police officers were deployed across France - nearly four times the number mobilized on Wednesday.screenshot
However, few signs of appeal from the government to de-escalate the situation were having any effect.
In Nanterre, where the shooting occurred, protesters torched cars, barricaded streets, and hurled projectiles at police following a vigil.
National police said on Thursday night that officers also faced new incidents in other areas of the country - in Marseille, Lyon, Pau, Toulouse, and Lille, including fires and fireworks.
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