Gérald Darmanin has been able to respond at length to accusations of sexism and misogyny since his interview with Apolline de Malherbe two days ago. It all started with a question from the presenter who asked the Minister of the Interior if the executive had not “woke up a bit late“, with Emmanuel Macron announcing a law on internal security in the last months of the quinquennium, while the figures for 2021 show an increase in attacks on people. This time, the 39-year-old politician was the guest of Ruth Elkrief on LCI this February 10, 2022 and the show returned first to this more than tense exchange. If he regrets having been able to offend and specifies that he personally telephoned Apolline de Malherbe following this altercation, he persists and signs the fact that his words were not, according to him, misogynistic and sexist, but proportional to the aggression he felt.
“I could have said to you, in an ironic tone, ‘are you calm?’ ‘calm down’, but I think it’s much more serious than that. (…) You told him, it’s going to be fine, three or four times. It shocked a lot, it outraged both women, journalists, women journalists, French women, French people. Are you saying I’m sorry tonight?“, begins by saying the host of the show Ruth Elkrief, visibly in solidarity with her colleague with whom she collaborated on BFM, asking, in all serenity, for explanations.
Faced with this, Gérald Darmanin first wanted to explain how much he had found his colleague’s way of doing things. Apolline de Malherbe “agressive” and claims to have called her following the interview. He acknowledges that staying calm would certainly have been a better solution but insists that there was no personal attack: “CIt was an interview, obviously tense, which prevented talking about the substance, probably on both sides. We talked earlier, we agreed to see each other next week. Obviously, if anyone feels hurt, I deeply regret it. But you don’t have to look for the buzz every time either. We must not tell ourselves when we are a man or a woman that we must constantly accept being attacked, caricatured.“
According to the Minister of the Interior, the expression “It will be alright” is a popular expression, which he often used in front of men in particular – as former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was able to point out in It’s up to you. To which Ruth Elkrief explains that, for women, it is a phrase”very violent“, adding that his tone was condescending, sexist and misogynistic. From the politician’s point of view,what [son] sexist and misogynistic opinion, is to consider that when you have an interlocutor, depending on whether it is a woman or a man, you must use different words“.
On the question of regrets, Gérald Darmanin hijacks his response to criticize the media and news channels continuously whom he accuses of caricaturing politics and escalating extremes, refusing to acknowledge misogyny or sexism in his lyrics: “I say it again, if I have offended anyone, I am very glad to regret it. Politicians do their best, whatever their side. women who serve the nation” According to him, he would have spoken in the same way to a male journalist and adds that he will return without problem again to answer an interview with Apolline de Malherbe. But he refuses to participate in the media buzz: “Getting millions of views on Twitter is not my idea of politicse.”
According to the indiscretions of RTL, the attitude of the Minister of the Interior towards the journalist would also have “strongly displeased” to the President of the Republic. Behind the scenes, he would have entered a black anger. Emmanuel Macron is indeed preparing for the presidential elections which take place in two months and he would have done well without a controversy concerning one of his major ministers.