Social media users were outraged by a recent clip of French President Emmanuel Macron appearing to be hiding a luxury wristwatch during an interview as pension-related protests mount in France.
Macron appeared to remove his watch from under a table during an interview with TF1/France 2. Twitter users speculated that the President took off his watch to appear less wealthy.
The Élysée Palace issued a statement to French newspaper L’Independant denying the rumors and saying Macron wanted to avoid putting the clock on the table.
“The President is not taking off his watch to hide it, but because he has just banged it loudly on the table,” the translated statement said. “The noise is clearly audible just a few seconds before the start of the video shared on social media.”
MACRON UNDER COMPLAINT WHILE FRENCH RETIREMENT AGE PROTESTS BECOME VIOLENT
French President Emmanuel Macron has suffered a major political backlash over a plan to raise his country’s retirement age from 62 to 64. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool, File)
Twitter users have claimed that the Bell and Ross watch costs €80,000, but that doesn’t seem to be true. French news channel BFMTV identified the watch as a V1-92 Blue Steel model, which retails for 2,400 euros, or about $2,587.
Regardless, commenters still expressed outrage at the clip.
“While Macron demands sacrifices from the French, he realizes that he is wearing an 80,000 euro watch and, like a magician, disappears it under the table. Unworthy.” another intervened.
Several others joined in the criticism, including Donald Trump Jr.
“Do what I say, not what I do!” said the former president’s son.
MACRON PLANS PENSION PLAN TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY YEAR-END
Social media users were outraged by a clip of French President Emmanuel Macron appearing to be taking off a luxury wristwatch amid the pension protests. (France 2/TF1)
The interview came as hundreds of thousands of French protested the government’s move to raise the retirement age. In January, Macron announced his government would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 to keep the pension system solvent.
Macron announced this month that he would enact pension reform with special constitutional authority rather than being voted on in France’s National Assembly.
Riot police scuffle with protesters on the sidelines of a rally in Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday March 23, 2023. French trade unions staged their first mass demonstrations on Thursday since President Emmanuel Macron inflamed public anger by forcing a higher retirement age through parliament without a Poll. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
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In addition to the closure of the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles, around 12,000 security forces were deployed on French streets, including 5,000 in Paris. Some of the protests have also turned into violent riots, with rioters throwing rocks and aiming firecrackers at police.
Fox News’ Paul Best contributed to this report.