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Rabat – French President Emmanuel Macron is facing mockery and racist comments after publishing a post in Arabic to express compassion and solidarity with the Lebanese people after the Beirut explosion.
“I express my fraternal solidarity with the Lebanese after the explosion that caused a huge number of victims this evening in Beirut and serious damages,” Macron wrote on Twitter.
He also said France always stands by Lebanon.
“There is a lot of French aid that is now being transferred to Lebanon,” he wrote in Arabic.
أعبرُ عن تضامني الاخوي مع اللبنانيين بعد الانفجار الذي تسبب بعدد كبير من الضحايا هذا المسأ في بيروت وخلّف اضرارٍ جسيمة.
ان فرنسا تقف الى جانب لبنان دائماً.
هناك مساعدات واسعافات فرنسية يتمّ الان نقلها الى لبنان./.— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 4, 2020
The French president shared the same tweet in French, but the post in Arabic received more comments and retweets.
While the post in French received 1,000 comments, the one in Arabic received 3,300.
More than 82,000 people liked the Arabic version.
The post in Arabic, however, received thousands of negative comments from some French citizens. The comments sarcastically called on Macron to post in French only as many Lebanese understand the language.
“We see our future in this tweet, Arabs take power over France,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another Twitter user posted: “What an idea to write in Arabic! Almost all Lebanese understand French.”
Similar comments repeatedly appeared in the response section for Macron’s tweet, with several people informing their president that Lebanese speak and understand French.
“Mr. Macron did not need to hire an Arabic writer,” the user said.
“In the name of France, speak French,” another wrote.
Besides racist comments, Macron received applause from some of his Arab followers. Many Lebanese thanked him for his initiative.
Macron also announced his decision via Twitter to fly to Beirut on Thursday.
“I will go to Beirut tomorrow to meet the Lebanese people to bring them the message of fraternity and solidarity of the French. We will discuss the situation with the political authorities,” he wrote on Wednesday.
The explosion caused the death of at least 100 people, leaving thousands wounded.
The massive explosion also left more than 300,000 homeless.
