French President Emmanuel Macron is blaming social media and video games for the days of violent rioting seen in cities across France, and not his own globalist policies.
Macron, a World Economic Forum (WEF) “Young Global Leader” and a former Rothschild banker, is demanding that Big Tech companies censor reports on the riots.
Almost one week of rioting was triggered by the fatal police shooting of a Muslim teenager Nahel Merzouk on June 27.
Merzouk, a 17-year-old Algerian migrant, was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop following a car chase in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, France.
Since the incident, Muslims and far-left activists have been rioting in the streets and looting businesses.
Macron, who was spotted dancing at an Elton John concert over the weekend while the streets of Paris burned, now wants reports on the riots to be censored.
Macron’s comments are hardly original, yet they warrant scrutiny from a free speech perspective.
The French leader is pleading with social media giants to erase the “most sensitive” content pertaining to the rioting.
“Platforms and networks are playing a major role in the events of recent days,” macron claimed, without evidence.
His words, veiled under a guise of concern, echo a familiar tune that has been played on the world stage before.
“We’ve seen them; Snapchat, TikTok, and several others, serve as places where violent gatherings have been organized, but there’s also a form of mimicry of the violence which for some young people leads them to lose touch with reality,” Macron added.
“You get the impression that, for some of them, they are experiencing on the street the video games that have intoxicated them.”
Macron’s comments have caused outrage among free speech advocates who accuse the French president of urging platforms to suppress content as part of an ulterior motive.
On the surface, it appears to be an act of preventing violence.
However, the move also conveniently serves as an avenue for controlling narratives and stifling voices.
The tactics are similar to those used during the Canadian trucker protests.
Macron also tried to shift the blame to parents by emphasizing that a third of those arrested were “young or very young.”
“It’s not the state’s job to act in their place,” he added.
However, the riots didn’t happen because parents let their video games.
The situation is precarious, with more than 200 police officers injured, and 875 people arrested.
The nation watches on as buildings are torched and stores are looted.
Meanwhile, their leader dances like Nero as the city streets burn.
As France burns, Macron dances at an Elton John concert. pic.twitter.com/bZFv57vRY7
— David Vance (@DVATW) June 30, 2023
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