Emmanuel Macron has been accused of pandering to the far right after he said France should have a robust plan to “anticipate and protect itself from a wave of migrants” from Afghanistan, reports The Guardian.
In a televised address, the French president said Europe must help those most threatened by the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and that “dealing with those fleeing the Taliban would need an organised and fair international effort”. “Europe alone cannot assume the consequences of the current situation,” he said.
The statement, which came hours after desperate Afghans trying to flee the country were filmed clinging to the wheels of a plane and falling to the ground, led to criticism the president was pandering to far-right voters in preparation for next year’s presidential election, in which he is expected to seek a second term in office.
One of the first to respond was the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
“This can’t possibly be right, can it? Is it a mistranslation? This sounds an awful lot like Macron’s priority when the Taliban are in the midst of door-to-door reprisals is covering his flank for some election, not saving lives,” Snowden tweeted.
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, a former government spokesperson and minister under Macron’s Socialist predecessor, François Hollande, tweeted: “But why these words?! Is this what politics has become, the tactical and icy at the same time, again and again, no matter what the distressing circumstances?”
During the primetime address, Macron stressed that France would not abandon Afghans who had worked with its forces and with the European Union offices in Afghanistan.
The president said it was France’s “duty and our dignity” to protect those who had served its forces and missions in the country. France was militarily engaged in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014.