A 12 year old Muslim girl in Paris was shot today because of her faith.

That is horrifying and unacceptable.

French president Emanuel Macron stated following this attack that it is: "the first time there has been a terrorist act planned to kill our compatriots, our children, based on the colour of their skin or the religion attributed to them".

Really???

Does he not know about Ilan Halimi???


Jonathan Sandler???

Gabriel Sandler??

Aryeh Sandler??

Myriam Monsonégo???

Yoav Hattab???

Yohan Cohen???

Philippe Braham???

François-Michel Saada???

Sarah Halimi???

Mireille Knoll???

Sébastien Selam???


Or does he not consider them French because they are Jewish???!

The Context of Macron's Response and Retraction

The post omits the immediate political correction that followed. Following swift, widespread condemnation from community leaders and watchdogs regarding the erasure of past antisemitic atrocities, Macron publicly retracted the claim. [1]

In a statement published via his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Macron corrected his remarks, explicitly noting: "Our country has experienced attacks in recent years that have struck Christians because they were Christians and Jews because they were Jews".

Analytical Intent & Narrative Framing

While the post successfully calls out a severe rhetorical error made by the head of state, it frames the mistake through a highly polarizing lens ("Or does he not consider them French because they are Jewish???!").

Politically, Macron's original phrasing was likely an attempt to emphasize the shock of a suspected Islamophobic drive-by shooting targeting minorities in a working-class suburb. However, by framing it as unprecedented, the rhetoric inadvertently minimized the severe trauma of France's Jewish community. The post leverages this blunder to accuse the presidency of selective empathy, reflecting broader, deeply rooted societal tensions over how the French Republic recognizes, labels, and balances its response to different forms of hate crime and terrorism. Rhetorical Strategy and Tone

Whataboutism and Comparative Grief: The post uses a "whataboutism" framing. While it begins by acknowledging that the shooting of the 12-year-old girl is "horrifying and unacceptable," it quickly pivots away from that specific tragedy to litigate past state narratives and the historical suffering of another group.
The Accusation of Exclusionary Citizenship: The climax of the post asks if Macron does "not consider them French because they are Jewish." This is a severe rhetorical provocation. In reality, French leadership heavily condemned all the listed antisemitic attacks at the time, explicitly framing them as assaults on the French Republic itself. The post leverages this extreme conclusion to highlight what it perceives as political hypocrisy or selective historical amnesia.