French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte confronted unmasked protesters during a Bastille Day walk in a public garden, raising further concerns about their security arrangements.
A group of “vests jaunes” – yellow vests – protesters saw the Macrons and followed them, asking the president to resign and shouting abuse as they walked with bodyguards in the Tuileries Gardens near the Louvre Museum in Paris on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday.
In a video posted on the Gilets Jaunes information page on Facebook, a few dozen protesters boo and yell “Macron’s resignation!” As they surround the presidential party, many of them record on their phones.
“It is incredible, we have encountered the thorn in our side,” one protester is heard saying.
Neither Macron nor the protesters, who carried out numerous attacks and sparked violent clashes in cities across the country, wore face masks, recommended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The heated exchange, with security guards on duty, lasted approximately six minutes, the French news agency reported.
“It presents a real security problem,” the head of the opposition right-wing Republican party, Christian Jacob, told French television. “How can the President of the Republic take such risks?”
Leftist leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said Macron should have been more “cautious” as “a president who walks in the Tuileries where there are so many people that he should expect to meet detractors.”
But Macron remains calm, and is seen repeatedly urging the group to “be cool,” while taking time to listen to their complaints.
He says he understands his “feeling of injustice,” but in response to complaints about alleged police abuse, he notes that “there are also violent people among you.”
“This is a holiday, I am going to walk with my wife and you are bothering me,” Macron tells one of them.
The exchange ends with a protester thanking Macron for listening and saying “I can’t even curse him” when the president turns to leave.
“All the best!” responds Macron, who had previously presided over a Bastille Day commemoration ceremony, the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, during the French Revolution.
Some 2,500 protesters and 1,800 law enforcement officers were injured in the weekly yellow vest protests that began in November 2018.
The protests largely faded in the summer of 2019, although sporadic protests drawing smaller crowds have continued almost weekly since then.
The protests, which started as a protest against the loss of purchasing power and Macron’s alleged contempt for the common man, often sparked clashes between protesters and the police.
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