- Emmanuel Macron heckled during a speech in the Netherlands over planned pension reform
- The situation came a day after he faced widespread criticism over his stance on Taiwan's democracy
- Macron's reform bill aims to raise the required age for retirement from 62 years to 64 years
French President Emmanuel Macron was met with widespread criticism on Tuesday during his trip to the Netherlands over his planned pension reforms and his stance on Taiwan's democracy.
During his speech, Macron was heckled and briefly interrupted by protesters before the latter were removed from the area. However, the demonstrations highlight the French president's continuous woes as he faces opposition to his planned pension reform.
Emmanuel Macron Criticized in Netherlands
For several weeks, France has observed protests in response to the French government's planned pension reform. Despite the opposition, Macron's administration has pushed through the largely unpopular reform, arguing that it was needed to address concerns over a collapsing social security system.
Again on Tuesday, protesters took to the streets and called Macron's reform undemocratic, arguing that it was an abuse of constitutional power. This comes despite the measure passing through the Senate and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne surviving a no-confidence vote in the Parliament, as per Fox News.
One group of protesters could be seen at The Hague holding a banner with text accusing French President Macron of being a leader of "violence and hypocrisy." In response, the official said he could answer their questions only if they gave him time.
Macron added that discussing these sorts of topics was crucial, pointing to other undemocratic practices that went out of control. This includes on January 6, 2021, when supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building to prevent Joe Biden's certification.
The French president said that when an individual starts to believe that, he gets to decide because he disagrees when democracy is at risk. The Netherlands protests came a day after Macron, during a trip to China to meet President Xi Jinping, said, "The question we need to answer, as Europeans, is the following: Is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No."
Macron's Stance on Taiwan's Democracy
Before the protests in the Netherlands, Macron was seen laying a wreath at the national monument in Amsterdam. A small group of demonstrators held up a sign with French text written on it, translated to, "We will not be beaten into retirement," according to the Associated Press.
Despite Macron's comments regarding following the United States' rhythm in its stance with China and Taiwan, the Elysee Palace said on Tuesday that the French president has never called for Europe to keep an equal distance from Washington and Beijing.
Following his China trip, Macron said they wanted France to be independent of others, specifically other nations, to address critical issues. These include energy, artificial intelligence, and social networks.
Many have questioned Macron's stance on Taiwan's democracy after he said that Europe is risking entanglement in "crises that aren't ours" and argued that the region should depend less on Washington regarding defense matters, said Yahoo News.
