TRUE OR FALSE. Did Emmanuel Macron say that “smicards prefer VOD subscriptions to healthier food”?

The first page of the newspaper The Marseillaisepublished on the weekend of February 24, caused controversy: “Smicards prefer VOD subscriptions to healthier food.” These remarks, attributed to the President of the Republic, provoked strong reactions. According to the Marseille daily, Emmanuel Macron would have said these words in front of trade unionists. On social networks, many politicians are offended, like Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Socialist Party, or even Marine Le Pen. They denounce a “class contempt”.

“The word minimum wage was not used”

For its part, the Élysée denies this. What was said during this meeting between the president and union leaders? After the exchange, which took place on February 15, the agricultural union Modef published a press release in which the sentence attributed to Emmanuel Macron was written in black and white. When contacted, the members of this union are no longer so affirmative about the wording used by the President.

“He tells us that for modest incomes, there would be choices to make. The word minimum wage was not used, (…) but basically, there is no ambiguity”, explains Raymond Girardi, vice-president of Modef. Emmanuel Macron therefore advised low income people to choose between good nutrition or leisure activities. However, the precise terms reported by The Marseillaise are not proven.