Haiti Summons French Ambassador After Macron Called Its Leaders ‘Morons’

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.

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