French President Emmanuel Macron defended on Tuesday the appointment of a minister under investigation over a rape claim, saying nobody should be judged "by the street" or through social media. Macron named 37-year-old Gerald Darmanin as interior minister earlier this month, outraging feminists and sparking street protests. Promotion of the high-flying former budget minister came despite allegations from a woman that Darmanin raped her in 2009 after she sought his help in having a criminal record expunged, a claim he denies. In his first public comments on the controversy, Macron said he respected "the emotion and anger of feminist causes". But he added: "If, from the moment someone is accused, but not tried, they somehow become the victim of judgment by the street or on social networks... our democracy changes its nature and it becomes a democracy of opinion." "I cherish this just cause of the fight against violence and real gender equality," he said during a television interview marking France's national Bastille Day. "But I also cherish what can make our democracy an even stronger democracy -- that of not yielding to constant emotion." The president said he had discussed the issue with Darmanin before naming him interior minister. "There is a relationship of confidence -- man-to-man -- between the president of the republic and the minister who has been named, on the reality of these events and the consequences." The charges against Darmanin were dismissed in 2018 but earlier this year appeals judges in Paris ordered the investigation to be reopened. Thousands protested across France last week with slogans denouncing "the culture of rape on the move", a reference to Macron's Republic on the Move party. ab-sjw/js/jxb