France's Macron removes luxury watch on air as protests rage. Netizens say…
1 min read 25 Mar 2023, 05:46 PM ISTMacron's government on Thursday last week used a controversial executive power to adopt the pensions bill without a parliamentary vote, sparking spontaneous protests in major cities.
PremiumFrench President Emmanuel Macron courted controversy on Friday after eagle eyed netizens spotted the top official removing his luxury watch during a television interview about his government's pension reforms. The incident has prompted claims that the French leader was attempting to ‘hide’ the expensive item and not rile up the protesters.
His office however lambasted the assertions, dubbing claims about the watch's cost as “a perfect example of fake news". The Presidential palace was quoted as saying that Macron removed the watch “because it was clinking against the table".
“The noise is clearly audible only a few seconds before the beginning of the video shared on social media," officials added.
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“He actually took his watch off during the interview, realizing that wearing such a valuable watch was a bad move," marvelled one Twitter user.
“We talk about it very little: the symbolic level of non-verbal communication: the staging of the Self through artefacts, tattoos and… Rolex-type watches that disappear during the speech," added another.
A third noted that their pension was ‘disappearing’ much in the same manner as the Rolex.
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France's recently passed pension reforms have triggered violent protests this month, with hundreds of thousands joining the demonstrations. The tense situation (and promise of further agitations) had also led to the postponement of King Charles III's upcoming trip to the country.
Police arrested more than 450 people on Thursday, according to interior ministry figures. In addition, 441 members of the security forces were injured on the most violent day of protests since the start of the year against Macron's bid to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
More than 900 fires were lit around Paris, with radical anarchist groups blamed for setting uncollected rubbish ablaze and smashing shop windows, leading to frequent clashes with riot police.
(With inputs from agencies)
