Haiti’s government has summoned the French ambassador to the country to protest about “unfriendly and inappropriate” comments from Emmanuel Macron, who was caught on camera calling the country’s leaders “morons”.
The French president had on Wednesday described the decision of the Caribbean country’s transitional presidential council to oust the prime minister earlier this month amid an escalation in gang warfare as “completely dumb”.
“Honestly, it is Haitians who killed Haiti by letting in drug trafficking,” Macron was filmed saying in Brazil, before hailing the ex-prime minister Garry Conille, who was ousted amid divisions with the council, as a great leader.
“They are total morons, they should never have fired him,” he said.
His remarks sparked outrage in Haiti, a former French colony. After Haiti freed itself from slavery and declared independence in 1804, it was forced to pay France a “debt” for lost property – including slaves – over more than a century that some activists say amounted to more than $100bn.
Activists are seeking French reparations for the debt, which many blame for Haiti’s centuries of economic and political turmoil.
The clip also shows the French president blaming Haitians for “letting drug trafficking take over”.
“Quite frankly, it was the Haitians who killed Haiti,” the French president said in the clip.
Conille, who before taking the prime minister post earlier this year had been a top UN official, was replaced by the entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, a fresh blow to stability in a nation with a deeply fragmented political class while around half the population faces severe food insecurity.
Haiti’s leadership has been racked by infighting and three members of the transitional presidential council – tasked with restoring security and paving the way for elections – have been accused of corruption. They remain in their posts.
Speaking in Chile on Thursday, Macron appeared to soften his tone, vowing: “France will never turn its face from a crisis … There will never be a double standard in face of tragedy, be it in Haiti, Venezuela or at the gates of Europe.”
France has pledged €4m ($4.2m) to a UN fund financing a deeply under-resourced security mission mandated to help restore security in Haiti, as well as funding for French and Creole classes for its troops.
Haiti’s foreign ministry said that in the meeting the French ambassador, Antoine Michon, promised France would stay by Haiti’s side to help restore security and carry out elections.
