Three weeks after her appointment as “Prime Minister”, Elisabeth Borne finds herself at the heart of a lively controversy after responding to the call for help from a disabled listener on France Bleu radio. This Tuesday, June 7, Elisabeth Borne was indeed invited to the microphone of Wendy Bouchard on the airwaves of France Bleu, to answer questions from listeners a few days before the first round of the legislative elections.
A moving testimony
A listener named Dolores then took to the air to confide in her complicated daily life. In a wheelchair since a terrible accident, the young woman wanted to alert the Prime Minister to the current payment conditions for the Disabled Adult Allowance (AAH), which is based on the partner’s income. “I applied for AAH, but since my husband receives 1,800 euros despite a rent of 1,000 euros in Nice, I am told that I have the right to nothing because we exceed the ceilings. Without my husband, I would be on the street” she confided on the verge of tears.
A cold response that shocks public opinion
From the outset, Élisabeth Borne reminded Dolores that she had the right to “aid for (her) everyday life […] which are not means-tested”. The Prime Minister then suggested to him to “resume a professional activity”. What to bring the tears of the listener: I love it when the Prime Minister tells me to resume a professional life, but you know when you arrive in a wheelchair…” she retorted, crying.
A bit disconnected from reality, Elisabeth Borne, who is at the head of a pretty fortune, outbid without compassion: “I hear your emotion Dolores, I think that we should not consider that employers must close the door to people in wheelchairs” she replied, assuring that the government was going to look into the deconjugalization of the AAH. “We know that the situation of the spouse can have an impact on the disabled adult allowance,” she acknowledged. “The President of the Republic mentioned it during the campaign. So, we are going to look at this subject”. she then concluded.
Dolores, disabled challenges @Elisabeth Borne on the allowance for disabled adults in #My Francewith @WendyBouchard on @francebleu#deconjugation#proximitypic.twitter.com/pW3AGz2kxp
— France Bleu (@francebleu) June 7, 2022
A few hours after this radio broadcast, the opponents of the one who is running for the legislative elections in the sixth constituency of Calvados reacted on social networks. Jean-Luc Mélenchon strongly denounced the attitude of a politician who “humiliates a woman in a wheelchair”. For his part, Fabien Roussel pointed to the “icy” and “insensitive” behavior of the new Prime Minister. Finally, François Ruffin posted an equivocal message: “Élisabeth Borne, techno in all its splendor: ‘Are you disabled, Madame? Get back to work'”.
Aliénor de la Fontaine