Macron slammed for ‘insulting’ words about Haitians

The French leader had called the Caribbean country’s transitional presidential council “total morons” for dismissing the PM

French President Emmanuel Macron has been publicly criticized over controversial remarks he was recently caught making on camera about Haiti’s leaders.

In a video shot on the sidelines of last week’s G20 meeting in Brazil and shared on social media, Macron was filmed calling Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council “total morons” for dismissing the Caribbean nation’s ex-prime minister Garry Conille.

“The prime minister was great, I defended him. They are total morons, they should never have fired him,” Macron said in the clip, responding to an individual.

The council’s former president, Edgard Leblanc Fils, said in a statement posted on X late on Sunday that Macron had made “insulting remarks” about an entire nation “living through dark times.”

Leblanc said Macron “did not hesitate to interfere in a matter that essentially concerns the Haitian authorities” by declaring that he supported Conille and that the latter was “formidable.”

Conille, previously a top UN official, was ousted amid divisions within the council just six months after taking the post. He was replaced by entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aime.

In the clip, Macron, who was accused by the individual of being responsible for the situation in Haiti, is seen saying it was the “Haitians who killed Haiti by letting drug trafficking take over.”

Macron’s remarks have sparked outrage in Haiti, prompting its foreign ministry to summon France’s ambassador late last week over what it described as “unfriendly and inappropriate” comments.

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Former French colony demands reparations

Many in the Caribbean nation have been blaming its former colonial metropole for centuries of economic and political turmoil, as France had forced Haiti to pay debt for recognizing the island’s independence and to compensate for the loss of its most productive colony. The final payment was made in 1947.

A coalition of civil society groups in Haiti has been calling on Paris to return the harsh reparations, which, according to different estimates, could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars.

Haiti has suffered from decades of political instability and violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. A confederation of criminal gangs served as Haiti’s de-facto rulers until the transitional council was established earlier this year, tasked with choosing Haiti’s president, next prime minister and Cabinet with the hope that it would help quell the turmoil.

Beset by mounting challenges and political division, the council chose to dismiss Conille.