Reported remarks by Emmanuel Macron on “smicards” are controversial, the Elysée denies

The controversy was sparked by the newspaper “La Marseillaise”, which relayed on the front page of its Saturday edition this quote attributed to the Head of State and denied by the Elysée.

Did Emmanuel Macron really say “Smicards prefer VOD subscriptions to healthier food” ? The Elysée firmly denied, Saturday February 24, the reported remarks of the Head of State, made before an agricultural union for whom “the president did not express himself in these terms, but the substance is the same”. The controversy was sparked by the newspaper The Marseillaisewhich relayed on the front page of its Saturday edition this quote lent to the Head of State during a meeting with the Modef union, on February 14 at the Elysée.

Emmanuel Macron’s entourage concedes that “the subject of the share of food in the household budget” could have been mentioned, but absolutely refutes these words. “Publishing comments reported without verification in quotation marks is also ethically curious”adds the Elysée.

“Choosing between eating well and leisure”, “hard” to “hear”

Questioned by AFP, Lucie Illy, vice-president of Modef and present at this meeting, affirmed that “the president did not express himself in these terms, but the substance is the same.” This organic arborist in the Hautes-Alpes notably questioned the president on the “excessive margins that we sometimes see on organic products, and the difficulty for people who receive the minimum wage to obtain organic products.”

“He first told me that there were no excessive margins in organic farming. Then he said that ‘eating well is a lifestyle choice. While we have 70 free channels in France’, we can do without a (TV) subscription to afford organic apples”, she said. Saying “a little shocked”, Lucie Illy argued that “When you work and earn the minimum wage, it’s hard to be told to choose between eating well and leisure, it can go a long way”.

Faced with these comments, the First Secretary of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure immediately denounced “class contempt to the end from someone who, in his entire life, has never had to make a choice between eating better and having access to culture”. The head of deputies RN Marine Le Pen also highlighted a “permanent class contempt” Of the president.