protesters interrupt Emmanuel Macron at the start of a speech in The Hague

He had barely begun to thank the Nexus Research Institute. Emmanuel Macron was interrupted at the start of his speech in The Hague (Netherlands), Tuesday April 11, by demonstrators who unfurled two banners. The banners read: “President of violence and hypocrisy” (“president of violence and hypocrisy”). These people then shouted to the Head of State: “Convention on climate has been put aside” (“The climate convention is not respected”). They also shouted in English: “Where is French democracy?”

“You have millions of protesters in the streets”, they also launched, while the French government has been confronted since the beginning of the year with a very strong challenge to its reform aiming to postpone the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. They were then evacuated by members of the security service present on the spot.

The French “should be less angry”

During this time, Emmanuel Macron observed them from the rostrum, without responding to the invectives. Then, after they were evacuated, he said: “It is very important to have a social debate.” “I can answer all the questions about what we are discussing in France”, “this is a democracy and a democracy is exactly a place where you can demonstrate” and see “this type of intervention”, he pointed out.

Before resuming his speech on the economic and industrial sovereignty of the European Union, the Head of State spoke about pension reform. The French “should be less pissed off at me”, he sighed. “Because in your country”, retirement age “is much higher, and in many countries in Europe it is much higher than 64”, he insisted. His objective was to defend in particular a plan for massive investments in green industry in Europe, as part of his two-day trip to the Netherlands.