French President Macron Warns Protestors Against Destroying Statues With Racist History in France

While France would fight fiercely against racism, acts that fueled a “false rewriting” of the country’s history would be met with stiff restrictions, maintained French President Emmanuel Macron, while opining about his stance on the worldwide protests over George Floyd’s death, followed by vandalizations in the United States and several other countries.

“We will be inflexible when it comes to tackling racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, and new strong decisions will be made to reinforce the egality of chances,” said Macron during a recent television address. “But this noble fight is perverted when it turns into communitarianism, into a false rewriting of history,” he added.

Staunchly condemning the acts of vandalization, Macron made it clear that France would not allow it. Urging people “to look at all of our histories together with lucidity,” Macron specified that separatists twisted the narrative amid the fight against racism, exploiting the situation. “It is necessary to unite around Republican patriotism. We are a nation where everyone -- whatever their origin and religion -- can find their place,” he said, according to a translation by RFI, as per a media outlet.

The death of George Floyd, a black unarmed man in Minneapolis Police Custody on May 25 sparked worldwide protests against police brutality and racism. Floyd was murdered by a white cop who knelt on his neck until Floyd ran out of breath.

The heinous killing bore catastrophic consequences -- infuriated demonstrators were spotted destroying historic statues of iconic leaders linked to human rights abuses and slavery. France saw the mushrooming of protests soon after the death of George Floyd surfaced. Reportedly, 15,000 people protested in Paris on Saturday.

The French government announced the banning of police chokeholds while promising to make strenuous efforts to weed out racism among police. “The chokehold method will be abandoned. It will no longer be taught in police and gendarmerie schools. It is a method that has its dangers,” said French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner during a television address last week.

Castaner admitted the need for a crackdown on racism in the ranks of French law enforcement. “Too many officers have failed in their republican duty. It is not enough to condemn it,” he said. “We have to track it down and combat it.”