French president Emmanuel Macron suffered blistering criticism for partying at an Elton John concert Thursday night while France was under siege by violent rioters.
Video was revealed of the embattled politician dancing to “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” This irresponsibility enraged his opposition, including Thierry Mariani of the National Rally Party.
The minister called Macron’s display “totally irresponsible” and declared while “France was on fire, Macron preferred to applaud Elton John.” An Instagram post by Elton John’s husband, David Furnish, showed the president posing with the couple.
That post has since been taken down.
Rioting that has seen little significant coverage in U.S. media gripped the country after a Tuesday incident. According to Reuters, Nahel M. was pulled over in a traffic stop in Nanterre, west of Paris.
The teen refused to provide identification and attempted to drive away, and that’s when the officer shot him.
As France burns, Macron dances at an Elton John concert. pic.twitter.com/bZFv57vRY7
— David Vance (@DVATW) June 30, 2023
Since the death of the delivery driver, who was given a Muslim burial service Saturday, France has been a civil war zone. Authorities dispatched some 45,000 police onto the streets to combat the violence, which is being led by the country’s substantial immigrant population and their leftist allies.
Macron eventually received the message, as he canceled Saturday’s state visit to Germany to focus on more pressing matters at home. But the damage was done, and derision poured down on the liberal president.
Many commentators on NDTV took the leader to task for the poor visuals and “wrong timing” of attending an Elton John show while the nation was gripped by bloody violence. One said Macron was “below everything,” and another called him a “disgrace.”
Social media is so filled with graphic images from the many disturbing scenes that some leaders called for platforms to be shut down. One video showed a protester in the street with what appeared to be a belt-fed machine gun.
Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed by flames, and yet there is barely a ripple in the mainstream international media such as the BBC and CNN.
La Baule Mayor Franck Louvrier declared that Macron “need[s] to shut down SnapChat and TikTok.” He commanded France’s riot response in 2005 when the nation underwent three weeks of similar violence.
That round was sparked by the electrocution deaths of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traore. The pair were hiding from police in a power station.
