For the start of the school year, Emmanuel Macron praised the memory of Samuel Paty in a video while taking up the challenge of YouTubers McFly and Carlito. A choice that divides but that has a meaning.
A restless return to school. In a video published this Thursday, September 2, Emmanuel Macron addressed a few words to teachers and students who were back to school. From Marseille where he is traveling, he thanked them for “Their exceptional mobilization” and encouraged the distressed students. The Head of State also paid tribute to the memory of Samuel Paty, the teacher beheaded last October in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.“I have a special thought for the parents and colleagues of Samuel Paty”, he said in this speech of a few minutes.
Still facing the camera, the President also showed a portrait of YouTubers McFly and Carlito taken during their anecdotes competition held at the Élysée, six months earlier. After claiming that the government was doing “As much as possible so that this re-entry is as normal as possible”, Emmanuel Macron recalled the importance of respecting barrier gestures. “Faced with the virus that is circulating, I remind you, there are barrier gestures, the famous song of our friends McFly and Carlito, and we must continue to be careful”, he explained. A mixture of genres considered “Moved” for a part of the opposition which does not hesitate to display its dissatisfaction on Twitter.
A clip on barrier gestures seen nearly 16 million times
In an attempt to extinguish the controversy, the spokesperson for La République En Marche stressed “At no time did Emmanuel Macron make the connection between Samuel Paty and the two Youtubers”. He recalled that the two accomplices play an important role in the fight against the epidemic with their video clip, which is very popular with young people and which calls on them to respect barrier gestures. “We need this kind of communication!”, he wrote on Twitter. The clip in question currently has nearly 16 million views.