President Macron’s disparaging remarks about Haiti’s transitional presidential council have drawn sharp criticism.
A video circulating on social media shows French President Emmanuel Macron using offensive language to describe Haiti’s leaders.
Filmed at the recent G20 summit in Brazil, the video captures Macron calling Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council “total morons” for dismissing former Prime Minister Garry Conille.
“The prime minister was excellent, I defended him. They are utterly foolish; they should never have dismissed him,” Macron stated in the video.
Edgard Leblanc Fils, a former president of the council, responded on X, condemning Macron’s comments as insulting and disrespectful to a nation facing significant hardship.
Leblanc criticized Macron’s interference in Haiti’s internal affairs, highlighting the president’s declaration of support for Conille and his praise of the former prime minister.
Conille, a former UN official, was removed from his position six months after his appointment due to internal divisions within the council. Entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aime succeeded him.
In the video, Macron, after being accused of responsibility for Haiti’s situation, is heard saying that Haitians are to blame for their country’s problems due to rampant drug trafficking.
Macron’s comments have sparked outrage in Haiti, prompting the Haitian foreign ministry to summon France’s ambassador to express their displeasure with the president’s remarks.
Many Haitians attribute their country’s long history of economic and political instability to France’s colonial past, including the forced payment of significant reparations after gaining independence.
Civil society groups in Haiti are demanding that France return these substantial reparations, estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Haiti has experienced decades of political instability and violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Criminal gangs controlled large parts of the country until the establishment of the transitional council earlier this year, which aimed to restore order by selecting a new president, prime minister, and cabinet.
Faced with numerous challenges and internal divisions, the council ultimately decided to dismiss Conille.