Friday, during a discussion with teachers committed to his cause in Honnecourt-sur-Escaut (North), the far-right candidate explained "to think that we actually need specialized establishments, except for people with slight disabilities obviously ".
"As for the rest, yes, I think the obsession with inclusion is a bad way for other children and for these children, who are, the poor, completely overwhelmed by other children. So I think that we need specialized teachers who take care of it,” he said.
The Secretary of State for Disability Sophie Cluzel lambasted Saturday on Twitter "a pitiful statement".
"Very angry" on BFMTV, she criticized a "miserable" and "exclusive" vision of disability.
"Of course it's complicated, but it's really an honor for France to be able to educate these children with others, among others," she added.
The leader of LR deputies, Damien Abad, himself with a disability, denounced "scandalous" remarks by Eric Zemmour and "segregation on all floors".
"Yes, we must be obsessed with inclusion. I demand a public apology," he tweeted.
The candidate of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, for her part considered it "unforgivable" to "attack children weakened by a disability".
"My project is more inclusion for fragile children", engaged Valérie Pécresse on the sidelines of a trip to Greece, castigating "the brutality" of Eric Zemmour's remarks.
Valérie Pécresse, LR candidate for the 2022 presidential election visits the Samos migrant camp in Greece on January 15, 2022 Alain JOCARD AFP
Same tone of the candidates on the left: "He is as always in excess, violence and insult", slammed the now declared candidate Christiane Taubira, Jean-Luc Mélenchon castigating "a vision of the world opposed" to his.
And the communist Fabien Roussel said he was "revolted by the proposal" by Eric Zemmour, comparing it to an "apartheid society".
"Take care of it better"
The reactions were also strong in the associative environment: the national president of the Association for adults and young people with disabilities, Jean-Louis Garcia, was moved on BFMTV by what he considers to be "segregation", a "mise apart", while the president of SOS autisme France, Olivier Cattan, was "indignant" at remarks deemed "discriminatory" and a "misunderstanding" of the candidate Zemmour on the subject. Both refer to the 2005 law which guarantees equal opportunities for children with disabilities.
The president of the Association for the consideration of disability in public and private policies (APHPP), Matthieu Annereau, also elected local LREM and blind, has meanwhile estimated that "the exclusion of 12 million people with disabilities in France mentioned by Mr. Zemmour (was) deeply nauseating".
Eric Zemmour attracted a general bronca after denouncing the "obsession with the inclusion" of children with disabilities and defending "specialized establishments" to educate them PHILIPPE DESMAZES AFP / Archives
Faced with the bronca, the former polemicist explained himself and nuanced his remarks on Saturday morning in Villers-Cotterêts (Aisne). "Of course, there are cases where putting them in an ordinary establishment is a good thing because it allows them to progress, to socialize. And then there are other cases, real, more numerous than we don't say it, where it is a suffering for these disabled children.
"What I meant was that I don't want the obsession with inclusion to deprive us and lead us to neglect the need for specialized establishments," he continued.
"I think it's an ideological position, as always. We decided it was better to put everyone together. I don't think so", "not to put them aside but to deal with it better".
The presidential candidate called for "taking into account the particular cases" of each child, with possibilities of "bridges" between "specialized establishments" and "ordinary".
Far-right French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour (c) in Villers-Cotterêts, Aisne, January 15, 2022 FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI AFP
Eric Zemmour cut short his visit to Aisne on Saturday and canceled his visit to Chateau-Thierry due, according to his entourage, to the last minute impediment of a guest.
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© 2022 AFP