It all started with a question innocently posed Tuesday morning by BFMTV journalist Apolline de Malherbe to her guest of the day Gérald Darmanin.
On this occasion, she asked him about the increase in the figures for violence against people – data from the Ministry of the Interior.
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Read alsoGérald Darmanin, change of tone inside
Getting carried away, the tenant of Place Beauvau mocks his question – a
“very quick and somewhat populist presentation”
– and throws at him:
“Calm down Madam, it will be fine”.
Words vilified by a good part of the opposition.
If the left immediately reproaches him for his
"sexism"
, the right and the RN challenge him on his
"offended"
reaction to his security record.
Darmanin claims a "popular" and not "technocratic" phrase
Invited by LCI on Thursday evening to clear up the controversy, Gérald Darmanin indicated, as a seasoned political personality, to practice
“debates with journalists and citizens”.
Exchanges where he would have taken the habit of answering in the
“same tone”
as his interlocutors.
Faced with Ruth Elkrief, the Minister of the Interior tried to defend himself: “
I found that your colleague's tone was extremely aggressive.
Anyone who watches the entirety of this TV moment will undoubtedly see it.
“Before explaining”
that we all benefit from being calmer when we have someone in front of us who obviously does not want to start this interview like that.
Way to start a mea culpa.
To read alsoGérald Darmanin: “The hate speeches of the populists join the project of the Islamists”
For the first cop in France, who would have called the journalist this Thursday, “
it was an obviously tense interview which (
h)
prevented him from talking about the substance.
“And to regret”
deeply
“if she had
” felt hurt “.
Thursday morning, on the same channel, the Minister Delegate for Gender Equality, Élisabeth Moreno had urged her colleague to apologize
“if she (Apolline de Malherbe, editor’s note) felt offended.”
Returning to the expression which has made so much headlines, which he "
uses
very many times in the National Assembly
", the member of the government saw in it something "
popular
" and which would not be "
technocratic
”.
Faced with the accusations of machismo and condescension to which he has been subjected, Gérald Darmanin specifies, according to him, that "
what is sexist or misogynistic is not to consider that when one has an interlocutor - depending on whether he is a woman or a man - we have to use different words.
“To better defend his words, the minister says he is the victim
of “a tense interview
” which will “
not remain as the best interview with Apolline de Malherbe
” or as “
his own
”.
To bring the discussion to another angle, the Northerner finally blames the continuous news channels which
"caricature"
security and migration issues.
This would lead to an increase in
“populism”
and “
extremes
”.
Throughout his political career, the member of the government indicates that he has "
never refused to answer a difficult question
", but again claims to "
speak a popular language
": "
if political life is a sanitized, technocratic and Parisian language
”, that
“disinterests the French in politics”.