Emmanuel Macron’s entourage corrects the statement

It is a controversy that has not stopped rising for 24 hours. Thursday, Emmanuel Macron answered a question from Europe 1 during his trip to Fouras, in Charente-Maritime. Arrested about a news item that shook Charente, the neighboring department, last week: a farmer was indicted for murder, after fatally shooting a burglar who broke into his home.

Words that made the other candidates react

At our microphone, [comme il est possible de l’écouter via le lien ci-dessus, ndlr]Emmanuel Macron declared: “Everyone must have security and it is the duty of public power to ensure it. But, I am opposed to self-defense. It is very clear and it is intractable because otherwise , it’s becoming the Wild West. And I don’t want a country where weapons proliferate and where we consider that it’s up to the citizens to defend themselves.”

Since then, several candidates for the presidential reacted, condemning Emmanuel Macron’s remarks. Starting with Éric Zemmour, who himself sparked controversy several weeks ago by proposing to broaden the principle of self-defense. The candidate of the Reconquest party then defended the principle of excusable defence: “If a person is attacked and acts in an excusable state, caused by the immediacy of the attack, then the condition of proportionality can be set aside”.

It is therefore no surprise that he reacted to the words of the current president: “If burglars break into your home when you are alone with your daughter, Macron believes that you must let yourself be killed. With me, you will have the right to defend yourself if you are attacked. ‘Do not enter’ will mean something again.”

LR candidate Valérie Pécresse also tweeted in which she declared: “Bad reaction from Emmanuel Macron to the murder of a burglar. It is not self-defense that must be opposed, it is a right of every citizen, but to the generalization of self-defense.”

“I am opposed to self-defense”: bad reaction from E #Macron to the murder of a burglar. it is not self-defense that must be opposed, it is a right of every citizen, but the generalization of self-defense. #SafetyForAllhttps://t.co/XEBb9f2v68

— Valerie Pécresse (@vpecresse) March 31, 2022

“Against the presumption of self-defence”

On his side, Marine Le Pen called on Emmanuel Macron to “correct his statement. Everyone is against self-defense, but the president cannot oppose self-defense, which is perfectly legal. This statement is serious.”

This Friday, following the avalanche of reactions to this statement, Emmanuel Macron’s entourage explained to Europe 1 that in reality, the candidate meant that he was “against the presumption of self-defense ” and not “against self-defense, as evidenced by the continuation of his remarks in his answer.”

“A word was missing” in the sentence pronounced by Emmanuel Macron, recognizes an adviser to the candidate who regrets the “instrumentalization” which is made of this declaration.