French newspaper Le Monde faced widespread criticism on Sunday after it published a highly provocative cover of French President Emmanuel Macron for its Saturday magazine supplement M, reports FRANCE 24.
Le Monde was forced to issue an apology over its cover for M magazine published on December 29th, after facing a barrage of criticism from readers.
The cover featured a black and white photograph of Macron, with an image of Yellow Vest protestors surging towards the Arc de Triomphe. There are bands of deep red behind Macron and the 'M' is written in Gothic font. The headline reads: 'From inauguration to Yellow Vests - The Champs Élysées, theatre of Macron's power'.
On social networks, many suggested the magazine was drawing a clear visualparallel between Emmanuel Macron and Adolf Hitler. The magazine insisted that it “obviously” had no such comparison in mind.
In a tweet, the president of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand summed up the general sense of confusion over the intentions of the image:
“Looking forward to understanding what underlies the graphic and iconographic references of @lemonde_M If it cannot be a matter of chance, what is it then? In search of the lost meaning…”