Overview

• Jean-Pierre Farandou used the phrase during his first France 2 20H interview on October 14 while explaining the government’s suspension of the pension reform.
• He posted an apology on X late Tuesday, saying he was sincerely sorry that his use of the term 'autiste' hurt people.
• National organizations including Collectif Handicaps and APF France-Handicap rebuked the comment and urged him to stop using disability as shorthand for incomprehension.
• Lawmakers such as Marie-Charlotte Garin, Anaïs Belouassa Cherifi and Sébastien Peytavie called the remark stigmatizing and described it as validist.
• The controversy unfolds as Farandou begins his tenure as minister after leading SNCF, and the episode continued to draw criticism into Wednesday.