LET THEM EAT CAKE

Macron Subtly Removes Luxury Watch While Defending Riot-Causing Pension Reform

The French leader slipped his arm below a tabletop to take off the watch about halfway through a primetime interview.

As protesters rage in the streets of Paris over a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron to raise the country’s retirement age, the former investment banker had his very own Marie Antoinette moment on live TV. For the first 11 minutes of an interview about the proposed pension reforms, Macron can be seen with an elegant timepiece on his left wrist. Then, about 11 minutes in as he discusses “blockages” across the country, his arm slips surreptitiously below the tabletop. Et voilà! When the arm pops up a few seconds later, the watch is gone. Though eagle-eyed social media users first asserted that the watch was a €80,000 ($86,000) F.P Journe timepiece, it was later revealed to be a significantly less expensive but still pretty fancy Bell&Ross BRV 1-92, which retails for around €2,400 ($2,580). Macron’s critics were quick to jump on this gaffe as further proof that the embattled centrist is “president of the rich,” as his government seeks to raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64.