French President gives youth a lesson on how to behave with respect
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France24 A floppy-haired French teenager asked, “Ca va, Manu?” (How’s it going, Manu?) to Macron as he greeted the crowds at an event to honour World War II Resistance fighters near Paris on Monday.
Even before calling the president “Manu”, the teen had started to sing a few lines of the famed Socialist anthem “The Internationale” – viewed as a dig at the president for his controversial pro-business reforms.
Le respect, c’est le minimum dans la République – surtout un 18 juin, surtout en présence des compagnons de la Libération. Mais cela n’empêche pas d’avoir une conversation détendue – regardez jusqu’au bout. pic.twitter.com/CWtPDAALhK
The president, 40, reacted with barely controlled outrage. The teenager rapidly apologised, but the president was not prepared to let matters rest.
“No, no, you are at an official ceremony. You can act like a clown, but today it’s the ‘Marseillaise’ and the ‘Partisans Song’ we’re singing. You address me as Monsieur le President of the Republic or Sir,” snapped the centrist president.
Perhaps spotting the banks of journalists and rolling cameras, Macron rapidly attempted to justify his irritation.
“You need to do things the right way. Even if you want to lead a revolution one day, you’ve first got to earn a diploma and learn how to put food on the table. And then you can lecture others,” Macron told the teenager.
