Macron: France won't take down controversial statues

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday evening said the government will not remove statues of colonial-era figures, as "the republic will not erase any trace, or any name, from its history."

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked protests in France, which are now focusing more on discrimination against people who came to France from former colonies in Africa; on Saturday, at least 15,000 protesters took to the streets in Paris. During a televised address, Macron called for "unity," and said it's true that in French society, a person's "address, name, color of skin" could make it harder for them to succeed.

Macron wants everyone to be able to "find their place," he added, and promised to be "uncompromising in the face of racism, anti-Semitism, and discrimination." In an essay for Le Monde published Saturday, government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye, an ally of Macron, said the French can no longer ignore race. "We must not hesitate to name things, to say that a skin color is not neutral," she said. French people, she continued, must "confront our memories" about the past and find a "shared narrative" with former colonies.

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