France’s president blasted over marijuana joke at the hands of his political nemesis. Cannabis isn’t only a hot-button issue in the United States. It’s a controversial topic overseas, too. And some politicians are milking it for all it’s worth.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron is the president of France. French citizens elected him to succeed President Francois Hollande back in May. Politically, Macron’s views lean toward socially progressive and liberal.
In the past, he has self-identified as a socialist and was also a member of France’s Socialist Party for a time. Additionally, he founded the political party En Marche! in 2016. The purpose of this party is to bridge the divide between the left and right French political parties to better modernize the country.
In May, French citizens voted in Macron during a landslide election. His opponent was the far-right, ultra-nationalist Marine Le Pen. Le Pen is notorious for her racist, homophobic and xenophobic political stances. Furthermore, like certain politicians in our own country, Le Pen has a particular antipathy for immigrants and Muslims.
Guiana et Ganja
Recently, Emmanuel Macron made a trip to French Guiana. It was a short visit–only 48 hours.
Upon his arrival, the Guianese met President Macron with protests due to a perceived oversight of infrastructure, immigration and unemployment rates. In response, Macron chose honesty and said that he would not make the people of Guiana empty promises.
But that’s not what got Marine Le Pen worked up.
During the trip, Macron met with the residents of the capital city Cayenne. There, he reportedly smelled cannabis outside. Instead of flying off the handle, Macron played it cool.
“So, there are some of you who do not only smoke cigarettes, huh?” he said. The statement earned laughter. Macron then advised the youths in the crowd that cannabis “won’t help their schoolwork” and implored them to tell younger students this.
This reaction was not satisfactory for Le Pen. In fact, she expressed outright anger and indignation over it.
“Mr. Macron enjoys visiting drug-infested neighborhoods and joking about marijuana use,” she said on a French news station. “It makes him laugh, apparently.”
OK, Marine.
Macron did not make a wisecrack about heroin addiction or crystal meth production. All he did was acknowledge in a calm way that people were smoking grass in the vicinity. Macron wasn’t even making a joke about weed. Any rational person can see that.
Final Hit: France’s President Blasted Over Marijuana Joke
So why was France’s president blasted over a marijuana joke if the “marijuana joke” never even happened?
We can only guess that Marine Le Pen had ulterior motives in her statement. Is it possible that she made these remarks in an attempt to turn her compatriots against Emmanuel Macron? After all, this is the politician who defeated her for the presidency by 66.1 percent.
The French people made it clear in the election. They prefer Macron to Le Pen. Therefore, it stands to reason that the vast majority of France is disinclined to hold Le Pen’s opinions in high regard.
