France's President Emmanuel Macron has been slammed as "transphobic" by far-left politicians after he took aim at their plans for letting French citizens legally change their gender at town halls.
Macron slated the New Popular Front (NFP), a left-wing alliance assembled ahead of the upcoming French election, for what he said was promoting "completely ludicrous things, like going to the town hall to change your sex".
In the alliance's manifesto, they have vowed "to authorise free and unrestricted changes of civil status before a registrar" if elected.
But Macron shrugged off the week-old bloc's plans as "gruesome things" promoted by the "extreme left" - for which he was subsequently lambasted.
Macron claimed the NFP was promoting "completely ludicrous things, like going to the town hall to change your sex"
Reuters/Getty
Owing to its relative novelty, the NFP had been weathering its fair share of teething problems and internal disagreement - but its leaders came together to pour scorn on France's under-fire head of state.
Olivier Faure, the Socialist Party's First Secretary, said: "When I see [Macron] adding up fake news and being transphobic, I think the president is embracing the most populist statements which he called out for years."
In a staggering stab at Macron's "Jupiter" persona, Faure added: "We were waiting for Jupiter... but we got Nero."
And Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, said Macron's remarks were "shameful" and accused the President of being "unaware of the suffering involved for those concerned".
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Macron shrugged off the bloc's trans plans as "gruesome things" promoted by the "extreme left"
Reuters
While Mélanie Vogel, the Green senator, bluntly added: "Macron is wallowing in crass transphobia".
And the President even drew fire from members of his own party; his former transport minister Clément Beaune jabbed: "For trans people, for LGBT people, for everyone... We must reject stigma in political discourse and promote equal rights."
While, Progressistes LGBT+, a group which self-describes as a "collective of LGBT+ activists supporting Emmanuel Macron" and is affiliated to his party, Renaissance, said it "deeply regrets [Macron's] comments aimed at stigmatising transgender people."
The blowback on his trans comments comes mere days after he made a shock snap election call in the wake of a surge in French hard-right parties' success in European Elections.
Mélanie Vogel accused the President of "wallowing in crass transphobia"
Reuters/Wikimedia Commons
Macron had likely hoped to catch other parties off-guard with just weeks to prepare for the parliamentary election vote - but opinion polls suggest the hard-right National Rally (RN) will win ahead of the aforementioned NFP - and Macron's own centrist group languishing in third.
Macron's allies have claimed that a victory for RN, or for the left, could create a financial crisis.
And 35-year-old Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told RTL radio that a victory for either would be catastrophic for France, its economy and jobs.
But Clementine Autain, a leading MP for the hard-left France Insoumise, said the damage has already been done by Macron's successive governments.
