A viral video shot on Wednesday on the sidelines of the G20 in Rio shows a tense exchange between a Haitian and Emmanuel Macron.
The situation is tense between Paris and Port-au-Prince. President Emmanuel Macron judged the leaders of Haiti “completely stupid” for having dismissed their Prime Minister ten days ago, attracting the wrath of Port-au-Prince who protested to the head of French diplomacy Jean- Noël Barrot and summoned his ambassador. It all started with a video shot on Wednesday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio, outside the presence of the press, and which circulated on social networks. Emmanuel Macron then left Brazil for Chile.
In this video, the Head of State responds, according to his entourage, to a Haitian who calls out to him “insistently» by accusing him and France «to be responsible for the situation in Haiti». «Frankly, it was the Haitians who killed Haiti, leaving drug trafficking», replies Emmanuel Macron. “And there, what they did, the Prime Minister was great, I defended him, they fired him!», he adds in reference to the dismissal on November 10 of the head of government Garry Conille, appointed five months earlier, by the Haitian Presidential Transitional Council (CPT).
“Unfortunate words”
«It's terrible. It's terrible. And I can't replace him. They are complete idiots, they should never have released it, the Prime Minister was great», he continues before the video interrupts. The authorities of Haiti, a poor Caribbean country in the midst of political, socio-economic, security and humanitarian chaos, reacted strongly. Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste summoned French Ambassador Antoine Michon on Thursday and protested against the “remarks deemed unacceptable» from President Macron, according to an official press release obtained by AFP.
Port-au-Prince expressed “the indignation of the Transitional Power at what it considers to be an unfriendly and inappropriate gesture which deserves to be rectified» et «a letter of protest addressed to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot was given to the ambassador» Michon. According to Haitian diplomacy, the French diplomat “recognized that these were unfortunate comments».
“France will continue to provide its support to the Haitian people”
Arriving in Chile on Thursday, Emmanuel Macron returned to the Haitian crisis during a speech on the relationship with Latin America delivered to the Chilean Congress in Valparaiso. “France will continue to support the Haitian people and support all initiatives aimed at restoring security and recreating a path towards a stable political situation. Haitians deserve it“, he said.
The decision to dismiss Garry Conille came as the CPT wanted to change officials in the Ministries of Justice, Finance, Defense and Health, against its advice. For Mr. Conille, “the resolution of the Presidential Transitional Council (…) is clearly tainted by illegality“. He was replaced on November 11 by businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé who promised to restore security and organize the first elections since 2016.
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