Not everyone is thrilled about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s recent double blessing.
In fact, the birth of Brangelina’s twins has sparked fierce protests outside the seaside hospital where Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline were welcomed into the world Saturday night.
Hundreds of residents in Nice, France have been picketing outside of the Fondation Lenval hospital this week (where the twins and Jolie will remain for a few more days) because the news of the babies birth has overshadowed a high profile murder case.
According to French newspapers, the protesters are irate that the mayor of Nice has spent so much time at the hospital socializing with the American movie stars and their new bundles of joy and has failed to address the case of a local murder victim.
Mayor Christian Estrosi spent much of Sunday showing off the children’s birth certificates on the steps of the hospital to the hordes of paparazzi and other curious onlookers. He then reportedly returned in subsequent days to visit Jolie and her newborns before granting interviews to local media describing the babies as “a pride to Nice and all its citizens” and declaring the stars’ offspring as honorary citizens of the city.
Meanwhile, protestors have been circling the perimeter of the hospital with signs calling Estrosi a “loser” for shucking his responsibilities so he could mingle with celebrities.
Across the Atlantic, award-winning actress Susan Sarandon and her longtime partner actor Tim Robbins designed their own picket signs and have begun campaigning against a proposal to expand a hospital near their home in New York.
The couple, who own a luxurious pad in the Greenwich Village area of the city, are reportedly livid that hospital officials want to build a new, larger facility just three streets away from their home.
In a statement released to the media Sarandon says, “Improving the hospital is a great idea. However, this can be accomplished without compromising the neighborhood. St. Vincent’s should consider the proposed alternative solutions.”
In an effort to show their displeasure with the proposed expansion the pair took their protest to a meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and vowed to fight on against the building work.
In doing so the famous couple has attracted some harsh criticism from others in the city. According to the New York Post, the project will not only provide jobs for the local community but it will also improve healthcare for many low-income families, a fact hospital administrators were quick to point out following Sarandon and Robbins’ public protest.