“Macron is a c…”: an 8-year-old child insults the President of the Republic live on Franceinfo, the management expresses its regrets

On Saturday, shortly after 3 p.m., Franceinfo's “Afternoon info feed” presented by Claire Arnoux followed live the new day of national mobilization with, in particular, the Parisian procession linking the Place de la République to that of the Nation. Among the special correspondents of the news channel, Esther Abitbol was among the demonstrators in the streets of the capital.

“For the moment, the demonstration is rather calm and peaceful,” the journalist first declared, highlighting the “anti-police and anti-fascist slogans” chanted around her. Then she gave the floor to a father, Kim, who came to parade in the company of his son, Marcel. “I came to demonstrate for high school students and students, mainly,” the first calmly explained, hoping that the government would listen more to the demands. The only one who doesn't listen is Macron. Macron, you must listen to young people, that's the most important thing. » The demonstrator openly expressed his wish that the President of the Republic would leave “as quickly as possible”.

Marcel, 8 years old, lets loose on the microphone

Then Esther Abitbol decided to hand the microphone to the little 8-year-old boy to find out the reasons for his mobilization. In return, the Franceinfo journalist was surprised to receive a particularly committed and vulgar response. “I think Macron is a c… like all these shitty cops,” said little Marcel before being taken back by his interlocutor. “Maybe we won’t say bad words,” she asked him kindly.

In vain. Each time he spoke, his sentences were punctuated with insults. “He has nothing to tell you,” the father finally said, impassive, to Esther Abitbol. On set, Claire Arnoux deplored these “angry demonstrators, not very polite and not very respectful”. “Even if we are upset and we are angry, we can still have a speech and a word that is exchanged. That’s what we’re trying to do on this set,” she emphasized before continuing her show with her guests.

“We should not have given a child a voice”

The management of Franceinfo

The sequence has been viewed and commented on tens of thousands of times on social networks. “Let’s remember that Marcel is a child. Just a child. This may raise questions... Does an 8 year old child have his place in a demonstration? », asked journalist Jeanne Baron. “I don’t find his remarks scandalous,” said LFI MP Sophia Chikirou. It's raw, it's true. But, after all, shooting demonstrators with weapons that mutilate deserves a few names. »