Zemmour calls for disability-based segregation, causes outrage
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French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour said children with disabilities should be accommodated in specialized establishments, criticizing the "obsession with inclusion", sparking a wave of condemnation in France.
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Far right-wing presidential candidate Eric Zemmour
France's far-right candidate, Eric Zemmour, once again shows new faces of his inhuman and racist personality, as he demanded that children with disabilities be accommodated in specialized establishments, instead of being included with other children.
In a meeting with teachers in Honnecourt-sur-Escaut, on January 14, Zemmour encouraged separating children with disabilities from the rest of the children, under the pretext that "the obsession with inclusion" is a "bad way" for the other children.
His statements sparked a wave of condemnation in France, as the Secretary of State for Disability Sophie Cluzel criticized what she described as a "pathetic" statement and condemned the "miserable" and "exclusive" vision of disability.
"Of course it’s complicated, but it’s really an honor for France to be able to educate these children with others, among others,” she commented.
Damien Abad, head of the LR deputies with a disability himself, condemned Zemmour's "scandalous" remarks and demanded a public apology.
Communist candidate Fabien Roussel said he was "revolted by the proposal" and compared it to a call for an "apartheid society," while right-wing candidate Valerie Pecresse reprimanded the "brutality" of Eric Zemmour's remarks.
Read more: Who is Eric Zemmour? Meet the French Donald Trump.
More outrage
The national president of the Association for adults and young people with disabilities (APAJ) Jean-Louis Garcia was also shocked by Zemmour's demand and considered it to be a “segregation.”
For her part, the president of SOS autisme France Olivia Cattan described Zemmour's remarks as “discriminatory.”
Also, Matthieu Annereau, the president of the Association for the consideration of disability in public and private policies (APHPP), who is blind himself, said that Zemmour's exclusion of 12 million people with disabilities in France is "deeply nauseating.”
Not the first time
This was not the first time Zemmour has been criticized for his approach and discriminating views on several significant topics, such as Islam and immigrants, and now children with disabilities. If he is a truly viable candidate for the French presidency, France's future does not look bright.
