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It works like a magic trick: in an interview on Wednesday about the controversial pension reforms, French President Emmanuel Macron (45) can be seen with an expensive watch on his wrist, but he then lets it disappear under the table. Ironically, when he started talking about minimum wages (Smicards).
On social media, the French are terribly upset about the missing watch. They accuse Macron of taking off the luxury watch to hide it from the low-income earners. They suffer the most from the reforms.
In an explicit procedure, the French head of state plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 – without a vote in parliament. He apparently fears that he will not win the majority. This upsets the people bitterly. The French have been taking to the streets and demonstrating for weeks. In an interview on Wednesday, Macron defended his decision.
Macron is a “President of the Rich”
“It’s not a luxury, it’s not a pleasure, but it’s a necessity for the country,” Macron said in an interview. He makes it clear that he is committed to the pension reform. Party opponents are angry. “When he talks about the Smicards, who ‘have never acquired so much purchasing power’, he discreetly takes his beautiful luxury watch from under the table,” writes Clémence Guette (32), MP for the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI ) on Twitter.
Other users are convinced that the watch is a luxury item worth 80,000 francs. The French feel cheated and are very angry about the ‘president of the rich’, as it is called on social media. The fact that he just made the watch disappear adds fuel to the fire.
The real reason was a noise
The president’s office calmly responded to the accusations on Thursday. He took off the watch at that point because he had bumped it against the table while talking. That caused an “annoying sound”. Not wanting that to happen again, he took the watch from under the table. During the interview, even Macron’s watch can be heard banging against the table.
Moreover, it is not a luxury watch for 80,000 francs, but a watch sold by the manufacturer for almost 2,400 francs, French broadcaster BFMTV quotes the Presidential Office. Macron has been wearing the watch for several years.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
