PARIS: France’s Presi­dent Emmanuel Macron faced accusations of racism on Friday over an alleged comment on problems in hospitals, which his office strongly denied he made, adding to the controversy over an angry remark during a visit to an Indian Ocean territory ravaged by a cyclone.

With Le Monde daily printing a sequence of articles about the behind-the-scenes atmosphere at the Elysee, Macron was also accused of sexist remarks about women opposition leaders and a homophobic quip about a former prime minister he appointed himself.

Macron said that the “problem with emergency care in this country is that it’s filled with people called Mamadou”, during a discussion last year in front of his then health minister Aurelien Rous­seau, according to an article in Le Monde on Wednesday.

Mamadou is a name popular among men originating from Muslim ethnic groups in western Africa.

“The Elysee strongly denies these reported remarks, which were not subjected to any verification by the presidency before publication,” an official in the presidency said.

Macron was also facing controversy over a comment he made while on a visit to the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, which was devastated by Cyclone Chido last weekend.

“If this was not (part of) France you would be 10,000 times deeper in the shit,” he told a crowd of people, many of whom had heckled him over France’s response to the disaster.

Greens parliamentarian Sandrine Rousseau accused Macron of going to Mayotte with “an arrogant attitude”.

Before the denial was issued, several left-wing politicians had strongly condemned the reported comments.

“These racist remarks by the president … are an insult to the Republic. It is an absolute disgrace,” said Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the France Unbowed party on X, echoing the indignation of many in his hard-left movement.

“I can’t wait for him (Macron) to go.”

Le Monde also alleged, in a subsequent piece on Thursday, that Macron had dubbed the prime minister’s office under former premier Gabriel Attal — who is openly gay — “La cage aux folles”, a reference to a popular French farce featuring two gay men.

It also claimed he called Greens leader Marine Tondelier and Lucie Castets, who the left wanted to nominate as premier, “cocottes”, a derogatory term for women.

“Yesterday we learned of extremely shocking homophobic remarks made by the president about Gabriel Attal,” Ton­delier said on X.

“Today, they are sexist remarks. We are impatiently waiting for tomorrow.”

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2024