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French leader calls factory workers ‘illiterate’

France's whizzkid new economy minister has been begging for forgiveness after referring to women workers at a troubled factory as 'illiterates' just weeks after his boss President François Hollande was accused of calling the poor "toothless".

Published: 17 September 2014 17:16 CEST
French leader calls factory workers 'illiterate'
A French minister is in hot water after calling factory workers illiterate. Photo: Fred Tanneau/AFP
After claims by François Hollande's referred to the poor as "toothless", his government was under fresh attack after the Economy Minister said women workers at a bankrupt abattoir were illiterate.
 
"In this company (Gad) there is a majority of women," Emmanuel Macron told Europe 1 radio. "Many of them are illiterate. Many of them have been told: 'You have no future in Gad or nearby. You need to go and work 50 or 60 kilometres away. These people have no driving licences. What can one say to them?"
 
The 36-year-old former Rothschild banker, appointed just last month, was beset by angry attacks from the left and right.
 
A union leader from Force Ouvrière, Jean Marc Detivelle, said: "It's clear contempt" for workers.
 
While National Assembly member Marc Le Fur, from the centre-right UMP party, called on the prime minister to send "Mr. Macron back to Rothschild." 
 
 
 
Macron was forced to issue a grovelling recantation later on Wednesday, saying: "My humblest apologies go to the workers who I may have hurt with this comment for which I can never apologise enough."
 
According to estimates from the anti-illiteracy group Agence Nationale de Lutte Contre l’Illettrisme, seven percent of the French people read so poorly they are effectively illiterate.  
 
Macron's remark came as part of his first major interview since taking up his job after Hollande sacked his predecessor, the maverick left-wing dissident Arnaud Montebourg.
 
It rapidly generated headlines on all French news sites and made #Macron a top trending term on Twitter, where he was widely mocked.
 
"At least Montebourg pretended to like worker," said tweeter Philippe Vardon.
 
 
The youthful minister made the comment in a clumsy attempt to demonstrate that France needs to overhaul its lengthy system of allocating driving licences, which it is currently trying to reform despite fierce opposition from driving schools.
 
He also said in the interview that France was "sick" and desperately needed pro-business reforms to recover from stagnation and "mass unemployment".
 
Macron's blunder came just weeks after Hollande came under fire for allegedly referring in private to the poor as "toothless". That accusation came in a kiss-and-tell book by France’s ex-first lady Valérie Trierweiler.
 
The claim infuriated the deeply unpopular president, who said in response that his commitment to people on the the lowest levels of society was his "reason for being".
 
But he failed to specifically deny that he had ever used the word "toothless" when speaking of the poor.
 
By : Rory Mulholland

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POLITICS

French forces smash roadblocks in bid to clear key New Caledonia road

French forces smashed through about 60 road blocks to clear the way from conflict-stricken New Caledonia's capital to the airport but have still not reopened the route, a top government official said Sunday.

Published: 19 May 2024 13:20 CEST
French forces smash roadblocks in bid to clear key New Caledonia road

And after six nights of violence that has left six dead and hundreds injured, security forces will launch “harrassment” raids to reclaim other parts of the Pacific territory, the French government representative in New Caledonia, Louis Le Franc, said in a televised address.

“Republican order will be re-established whatever the cost,” Le Franc, the central government’s high commissioner, warned radicals behind the violence.

The Pacific archipelago of 270,000 people has been convulsed by unrest since Monday, sparked by French plans to impose new voting rules that would give tens of thousands of non-indigenous residents voting rights.

READ ALSO: France mounts ‘major operation’ to open route to New Caledonia’s restive capital

The territory has long suffered from ethnic tensions and opposition to French rule by Kanak groups.

Authorities said 600 heavily armed police took part in an operation Sunday to retake the 60-kilometre (40-mile) main road from Noumea to the airport that has been closed to commercial flights since the unrest erupted.

The local government estimates around 3,200 people are either stuck in New Caledonia or unable to return there from abroad since flights have been cancelled.

Australia and New Zealand have been pressing France for clearance to launch evacuation flights for their citizens.

Le Franc said about 60 roadblocks put up by pro-independence groups had been “broken through” without violence.

But the official added that the route was full of wrecks of cars, burned wood and metal which had only been cleared at 15 of the roadblocks. Le Franc said the road was also damaged in several places.

READ MORE: Explained: What’s behind the violence on French island of New Caledonia?

AFP journalists on the road found some roadblocks had been re-established by separatists, although they were eventually able to reach the airport.

Le Franc said police units would launch “harrassment operations” in coming hours to retake “hardcore” areas in Noumea and the towns of Dumbea and Paita.

“It is going to intensify in coming days” in zones held by independence activists, said Le Franc. “If they want to use their arms, they will be risking the worst.”

“I want to tell the rioters: stop, return to calm, give up your arms,” added Le Franc, saying the crisis remained “unprecedented” and “grave”.

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