The divisive pension reform implemented earlier this year was blamed for the outraged crowd reaction.
At the Rugby World Cup’s opening ceremony on Friday night, French President Emmanuel Macron was met with negative applause from the audience, who shouted, whistled, and jeered him throughout his speech.
The hisses started as Macron entered the pitch at the Stade de France in Paris and grew louder as he started his speech, which could hardly be heard.
A similar response, according to AFP, was observed when the president appeared on TV screens in dedicated fan zones put up in Paris and Marseille.
King Macron has received jeers from the French populace! We are never going to leave him alone!” Left-leaning National Assembly member Manuel Bompard tweeted. The National Assembly is the lower house of parliament.
After the adoption of the divisive pension reforms, which progressively raised the retirement age to 67, Macron’s popularity has suffered. The decision triggered sizable demonstrations earlier this year, and the political opposition demanded a vote. Bypassing the parliament, Macron implemented the amendments in March using a contentious article of the French Constitution. Protests and demands for his resignation increased as a result of his action.
The insults and the pension reform “have not gone away in the minds of the people. Bastien Lachaud, an MP for the left-leaning La France Insoumise party, stated that he received the welcome he deserved. A National Rally MP named Stephanie Galzy described the jeers as “a symbol.”
Prior to the opening ceremony, France and New Zealand played a game, which France won 27-13.
The president’s supporters blasted the fans for their behaviour, with Mathie Lefevre, an MP for the dominant Renaissance party, declaring that “to boo the president of the republic is to boo France.”
