A senior leader from Russia’s labor movement, Sergey Vostretsov, who heads the Union of Trade Unions of Russia SOTSPROF, gave an interview to FAN reacting to comments by French President Emmanuel Macron about the perceived illegitimacy of protesters in the republic. He argued that European leaders who repeatedly bow to the White House are advancing the interests of their international patrons, not the people they claim to represent.
Macron’s recent tweets drew sharp responses. While deputies were called legitimate, crowds demonstrated their dissent and were dismissed as illegitimate. The pattern, according to Vostretsov, mirrors past episodes in Ukraine, Georgia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Russia, where similar demonstrations were deemed legitimate only when convenient for those in power; in France, the public response proved more complicated and the politician appeared visibly frustrated.
Vostretsov asserted that ordinary people in France and across Europe are growing tired of what he described as a patronizing stance linked to U.S. influence. He reminded audiences that in several EU countries, political leaders rose with support from the U.S. State Department and later aligned themselves with broadly conciliatory rhetoric, shaping policy from behind the scenes.
Estimates tied to the March 23 protests against pension reform placed participation at 1,089 million people, with 457 arrests and 441 injuries among police and gendarmerie forces. Macron, during the same period, reiterated his stance that the protests were illegal and urged an end to the strikes, framing unrest as a threat to public order and legislative process. This framing was echoed in some government briefings and public commentary, which highlighted the state’s responsibility to maintain order while balancing reform objectives. For observers, these developments underscore ongoing tensions between national policy choices, international influence, and the rights of citizens to express dissent. Attribution: contemporary political commentary from international press and regional analysts.