France Will Not Take Down Any Colonial-Era Statues, Macron Says |
|
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced France was fully reopening its economy, including all restaurants, to accelerate the country's recovery after the coronavirus crisis.
Macron said restaurants in the Paris region will be allowed to open indoors starting on Monday. Restaurants in other French regions have already reopened. From June 22, all nursery schools, primary schools and junior high schools will reopen and will be mandatory for all students, instead of classes capped to small groups and many children staying at home. France is reopening its borders with other European countries at midnight and will start allowing visitors from other continents on July 1. Macron also vowed to stand firm against racism and said France should take a fresh look at its relations with Africa. However, he insisted that France will not take down statues of controversial, colonial-era figures as has happened in some other countries in the wake of George Floyd's death in the US. After multiple protests in France in recent weeks, he promised to be "uncompromising in the face of racism, anti-semitism and discrimination." Amid calls for taking down statues tied to France's slave trade or colonial wrongs, Macron warned against the dangers of trying to rewrite history. "The Republic will not erase any trace, or any name, from its history ... it will not take down any statue." Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm QUICKTAKE ON SOCIAL: Follow QuickTake on Twitter: twitter.com/quicktake Like QuickTake on Facebook: facebook.com/quicktake Follow QuickTake on Instagram: instagram.com/quicktake Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ Email us at quicktakenews@gmail.com QuickTake by Bloomberg is a global news network delivering up-to-the-minute analysis on the biggest news, trends and ideas for a new generation of leaders. |