Protesters disrupt Macron speech on Dutch state visit
Students displayed a protest banner reading 'President of violence and hypocrisy' (Photo: AFP/Ludovic MARIN)
THE HAGUE: Protesters interrupted French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday (Apr 11) as he gave a keynote speech about European sovereignty during a state visit to the Netherlands.
This prompted the French president to say that those who do not respect the electoral process and elected leaders put democracy in danger.
The 45-year-old French leader has faced a series of protests and strikes in France against his pension reforms, with a new day of industrial action scheduled for Thursday.
"Where is French democracy? When did we lose it?" shouted the demonstrators, who were in the audience in the Amare theatre in The Hague where Macron was starting his address, AFP journalists saw.
Two female protesters held up a yellow banner saying "President of violence and hypocrisy" while one male protester on the other side of the theatre held a blue banner aloft.
"I can answer this question if you give me some time," Macron responded.
For a few minutes, Macron also competed with those who were shouting in trying to make himself heard. He said social debate was "very important," but that the conference was not the place to protest.
Macron also went on to say that "I can answer all the questions you have on what we are discussing in France".
Security guards escorted the demonstrators out of the hall after about one minute.
A group of around two dozen protesters also chanted slogans outside the theatre before the speech.
"You vote and you elect people ... the counterparty is you need to respect the institutions voted by the people," he said. "The day you consider, 'I disagree with the law ... so I can do whatever I want' ... you put democracy at risk."
Macron is facing the biggest challenge of his second term over his flagship pension overhaul, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 and demanding people work longer for a full payout.
