Le Pen humiliates Macron during the battle of Amiens
During a visit by French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron to striking factory workers in his hometown of Amiens, chaos ensued after workers showed their hostility towards him.
Published: April 28, 2017, 10:27 am
According to Bloomberg, the confrontation at the factory in northern France, was because of “an ambush” by supporters of his nationalist rival.
Catastrophic trip to Whirlpool plant for #macron – "get out" "marine president" chant protesters pic.twitter.com/BYuJD6NOw4
— Anne-S Chassany (@ChassNews) April 26, 2017
On Wednesday Macron was greeted with jeers, boos, while protesters chanted in favour of Marine Le Pen. Macron tried to blame Le Pen for his unpopularity after his humiliation.
The 39-year-old Macron spent over an hour trying to talk to workers and making himself heard above the heckles and angry whistles, while the media were asked to wait outside as the melee looked like getting out of control. He had little success.
Patrice Sinoquet from the CFDT union in the town, who met with Macron earlier in the day, said 90 percent of his members will be voting for Le Pen. “Macron is the worst of free-market politics,” said Clement Pons, a 32-year-old unemployed worker at the anti-Macron rally. “He’s a globalist who will kill the working class. He makes me want to throw up. I don’t understand his ideas.”
The powerful French union, which has called on its members to vote against Marine Le Pen in the second round of the presidential election, has been confronted by one of its trade union representatives, and he is not alone judging from the reception Macron received in Amiens.
On Monday, Macron drew criticism for what many saw as a triumphalist speech and then a grand celebratory dinner at an expensive Paris bistro on Sunday. Socialist Party boss Jean-Christophe Cambadelis told French radio: “He was smug. He wrongly thought that it was a done deal.”
On April 26th, during an interview with France Info, Sinoquet, trade union representative of the CFDT, announced he had voted for Marine Le Pen during the first round of the presidential election.
Referring to the visit of the two candidates on the same day at the Whirlpool factory in Amiens, the trade unionist launched: “Macron, it is not my cup of tea… I find him a little petty. If he comes begging for votes, he can look elsewhere. For me it’s too late.”
“I will not change my mind. I will always vote National Front. I am ready to withdraw and resign if they want, “said Sinoquet, before continuing:” We are not there to arbitrate the elections! The choice of my vote is my choice and it will not be the CFDT that will make me change my mind. Here everyone does not vote the same, we are not sheep, we are not there to be instructed to vote the same because we represent a union.”
Chantal Flahaut, a 57-year-old assembly line worker at the Whirlpool rally, told the New York Times she had been striking on and off all week and she was so sickened by the situation in France that she did not even register to vote on Sunday. She wore a T-shirt saying: “Whirlpool Manufactures Unemployment”.
“I am so disgusted,” she said. “Macron is in favor of big companies like ours. Stop giving aid to multinational billionaires and give us our money.”
The war of words continued on Twitter, where Macron said that Le Pen had spent “10 minutes with her supporters in a car park in front of the cameras” whereas he had spent “an hour and a half with union representatives and no media”. But Macron did not dare to explain the hostile reception that had awaited him.
Macron arranged to meet the plant workers’ union representatives, without actually visiting the facility. He quickly arrived there after Le Pen turned up unannounced outside the plant, warmly welcomed by workers.
Marine was met with applause and posted a flurry of images on social media of herself, surrounded by factory workers, all smiling and laughing. “In Amiens where I went to meet and support the workers at Whirlpool. With me, their factory won’t close!” she tweeted.
📣 RT ! NON, une délocalisation n'est pas une « anecdote » !@BFMTV revient sur ma venue à #Amiens auprès des salariés de #Whirlpool : pic.twitter.com/IUSnLY1mRZ
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) April 26, 2017
“Everyone knows what side Emmanuel Macron is on – he is on the side of the corporations,” Le Pen said. “I am on the workers’ side, here in the car park, not in restaurants in Amiens.” The factory operated by Whirlpool, a US multinational company, has threatened 295 jobs by outsourcing to Poland.
Benjamin Griveaux, an aide on the Macron campaign, said Le Pen was focusing on “political stunts” rather than trying to address voters’ problems, but the factory workers were saying the exact opposite.
It was clear in Amiens that Macron, who has no party, would face the same reception at a rally later in nearby Arras, a city in the northern rustbelt where Le Pen topped the first round of voting. Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler, speaking from Arras, said Le Pen had totally upstaged the ex-banker.
Leftist filmmaker François Ruffin criticised Macron for not having visited the factory previously during the campaign and for “having a lack of solidarity with workers”.
Criticizing Le Pen directly, Macron said “stopping globalisation and closing borders” is no solution. He has also said that France should accept that terror attacks are here to stay.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
The Ursula von der Leyen Affair
After a criminal complaint in Belgium against the President of the European Commission, the so-called SMS-case, now takes a new turn. The judge responsible for the investigation will likely gain access to the secret messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, at least if they haven't been deleted.
Publisher of Unique Literature Worldwide Blocked by International Distributor
Arktos has distinguished itself by publishing groundbreaking philosophers and social critics. Now, the publisher's international distributor has abruptly terminated the cooperation, and more than 400 already printed titles cannot reach their audience. There is strong evidence that the distributor has been under pressure, something that has also happened in Sweden. We have spoken with Arktos founder Daniel Friberg about the ongoing struggle for freedom of speech in a shrinking cultural corridor.
Care prompts bishops to criticize transgender ideology
The Catholic bishops of the Scandinavian countries presented an open five-page letter criticizing transgender ideology on March 21, just before Easter. The document primarily expresses care and advice and was read aloud in Catholic churches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, is one of the signatories of the document.