French President Emmanuel Macron sparked controversy after he appeared in an interview, stealthily taking off his luxury watch while talking about the crisis of reforming the country’s pension system.
Macron, 45, appeared in an interview with France 2 and TF1, taking off the luxury watch, worth about $ 2,400, during a televised debate about his unpopular pension reforms that have sparked riots in several French cities.
The video shows Macron gesturing throughout the half-hour interview while wearing a luxury watch on his left wrist, which later disappeared as he continued speaking.
Commentators on social media stated that Macron took off the watch 11 minutes into the interview, when he put his left arm under the table while continuing to answer questions. When his hand returned from under the table, the watch was gone.
Viewers were quick to comment on the incident, with many describing Macron as “the president of the wealthy.” Someone said that wearing the watch “may remind the French of what they did to the bourgeoisie in the last revolution,” according to The Telegraph.
As a result of the controversy that took place after the incident, the Elysee was forced to issue a clarification in which he said that the French president took off his watch because it was making noise when his hands hit the table.
On Thursday, 3.5 million people demonstrated in more than 300 cities in France, according to the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), and 1.8 million, according to the Ministry of the Interior, against the reform, which provides in particular for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years.
On Friday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanan announced that more than 450 people had been arrested and that “441 police and gendarmerie personnel” had been injured, during the most serious acts of violence since the start of the movement in January.
