Emmanuel Macron - who earlier this year blamed video games for fuelling street violence - has backtracked on his negative stance about gamers.
The French president in June denounced video games as a cause for youths rioting after the police shooting of a teenage boy in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.
The death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk triggered nationwide protests and riots, which were shared and celebrated on social media networks, leading Mr Macron to accuse youths of playing “a considerable role” in the unrest.
But at the weekend, he described gamers as “storytellers” and claimed video games were a form of art, sport and entertainment - and inspire young people to use their imagination and be creative.
Read more news:Cows injure three people near beachTwo female students in hospital after university stabbingAerobatic plane crashes into family car, killing five-year-old
Japanese game director Kastuhiro Harada was among Mr Macron’s critics, and shared a video of the French leader lambasting gamers with the comment: “Blaming something is a great way to escape the burden of responsibility.”
The original article contains 386 words, the summary contains 175 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Emmanuel Macron - who earlier this year blamed video games for fuelling street violence - has backtracked on his negative stance about gamers.
The French president in June denounced video games as a cause for youths rioting after the police shooting of a teenage boy in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.
The death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk triggered nationwide protests and riots, which were shared and celebrated on social media networks, leading Mr Macron to accuse youths of playing “a considerable role” in the unrest.
But at the weekend, he described gamers as “storytellers” and claimed video games were a form of art, sport and entertainment - and inspire young people to use their imagination and be creative.
Read more news:Cows injure three people near beachTwo female students in hospital after university stabbingAerobatic plane crashes into family car, killing five-year-old
Japanese game director Kastuhiro Harada was among Mr Macron’s critics, and shared a video of the French leader lambasting gamers with the comment: “Blaming something is a great way to escape the burden of responsibility.”
The original article contains 386 words, the summary contains 175 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!