France’s official government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye has caused outrage with police unions for saying she is unsure “if it is normal or not to throw stones at police officers”.
She made the comments while being interviewed on the France 3 TV channel on 21st June (Sunday) and police unions have unanimously reacted with outrage, and called for President Emmanuel Macron to remove her from her post.
Ndiaye, 40, was being asked what she thought about a nurse being arrested for throwing stones at police officers during a healthcare worker protest in Paris.
At first, she said that she did not think that she was “qualified” to decide, adding: “I think it is not up to the government spokesperson to determine what should be the court decision that should be made.”
But then Ndiaye added: “But at the same time, I cannot explain to my children, for example, whether it is normal or not to throw stones at the police.”
One union, the Syndicat des Commissaires de la Police Nationale (the union of commissioners of the national police force), tweeted part of the TV interview with the caption: “These words, from the government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye, are unworthy of her functions.”
They also tweeted: “We are now calling on President Emmanuel Macron or Prime Minister Edouard Philippe: Such remarks made by government ministers are contrary to the values of the Republic and contribute to insecurity in our country. This can not go on.”
France’s largest police union, the Unite SGP Police-Force Ouvriere, was also visibly outraged, tweeting: “Is it normal to throw stones at the police? The government spokesperson is not sure… Yet another incongruity and a lack of firm support for the police.”
Ndiaye, is a French-Senegalese communications adviser who has been serving as government spokeswoman under President Emmanuel Macron since 1st April 2019.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
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