The French Prime Minister has been accused of “mansplaining” and “manterrupting”, after he unexpectedly took over from fellow politician Valerie Hayer during a debate.
Footage shared by former secretary for state for culture of France, Philippe de Villiers, shows the moment Prime Minister Gabriel Attal walked onto a stage, where member of European parliament Valerie Hayer was speaking on France Info Radio.
“Hello, sorry I’m bursting onto the stage,” the Prime Minister said.
Attal and Hayer belong to the same political party, French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, which is described as a progressive, centrist party.
Hayer is in the final week of her campaign for the European Union parliament election this weekend. According to reports, Hayer, who has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019, has not fared well with the public throughout her election campaign.
Attal told the crowd in the auditorium, where the France Info Radio debate was taking place, that it was important for him to address the young people watching and to “encourage Valerie”, which is why he interrupted Hayer’s speech.
When the radio show anchor asked Attal if he was worried about Hayer in the elections, he said he is “worried about Europe”, noting the rise of the far-right.
Philippe de Villiers, who shared the footage on X, suggested Attal’s behaviour was “the very definition of mansplaining and misogyny”.
🔴 « Vous nous laissez l'interroger, maintenant ? » Gabriel Attal fait irruption dans l'auditorium de la Maison de la radio pour reprendre la main sur l’interview de Valérie Hayer sur France Info.
— FranceUnie PhdeVilliers 🇫🇷 (@FrPhdeVilliers) June 3, 2024
La définition même du mansplaining et de la misogynie ? pic.twitter.com/XO2XcDTMD7
Members from France’s far-left political party, France Unbowed (LFI), have accused Attal of the same. The head of LFI, Manon Aubry, called the move the “definition of mansplaining”, and MP Raquel Garrido agreed: “Or, to be more precise, manterrupting,” she said.
Even former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who belongs to the right-wing nationalist party National Rally (RN), also cast a feminist critique on Attal’s actions. Le Pen said what Attal did was “truly shameful”, adding it would have never been allowed “if the candidate was a man”.
Hayer has since responded to the reactions, defending the actions of Attal during the debate. She accused critics of Attal as doing more harm than good to feminism.
“Instrumentalising the feminist cause only harms it,” Hayer wrote in a post on X.
“Real sexism is believing you can think for me. Because I am a woman, would I necessarily be made invisible by the presence of a man?”
Hayer said she is “proud” to have had Attal by her side throughout her campaign.
The European Parliament elections are taking place this week, starting this Thursday. Around 373 million voters across 27 European nations are expected to cast their vote for 720 MEPs. There is an expectation for more conservative MEPs to be voted into parliament at this year’s election.