Macron says committed to not ‘disturbing’ covid vaccination, opposition hits back

PARIS – Four months before France’s presidential election, President Emmanuel Macron became the target of opposition attacks when he said, in an interview published on Tuesday evening, that he intended to make life hell for the French people who do not get vaccinated. Against covid 19. Macron said in Le Parisien newspaper that he was committed to “raising” the unvaccinated and that he would continue to do so “until the end” of the pandemic.

“I don’t want to anger the French, I spend the whole day complaining to the government team when that happens. But the unvaccinated, I really want to provoke them,” Macron said, accusing those who choose not to receive vaccinations of a “huge moral defect.” They come to undermine the strength of the nation. When My freedom threatens the freedom of others, I become irresponsible. The irresponsible person is no longer a citizen.

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The word Macron used – Get lost It is a common term in the French language. Comments led opposition parties to Once again, the discussion in Parliament on the implementation of the vaccination passport has been suspended.

The French government has proposed replacing the health passport with the vaccination passport at the end of 2021. If the law is passed, the country will require people over 12 years of age to present a vaccination certificate to enter restaurants, attend events or travel between cities on trains. The new pass will replace the current pass, which includes the ability to show a recent negative Covid-19 test or evidence of recent recovery from the disease.

The idea was to implement the new passport as early as next week, but with the country in full swing for the presidential elections in April, in which Macron is expected to run for re-election, the opposition is not missing out on opportunities that make life difficult for him. the government. Historically, France has had one of the strongest anti-vaccination movements in Western Europe, and the restrictions imposed on the spread of the pandemic have sparked countless protests over the past two years.

However, the country has one of the highest vaccination rates in the European Union, with 73.5% of its population already vaccinated with two doses. The president may have estimated that many of the already vaccinated French are also angry at those who refuse the injection and that his comments would be welcomed by voters who need a hook to confirm his favoritism in the polls.

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According to a hypothetical survey conducted by the Odoxa Institute for Le Figaro newspaper, 64% of those interviewed said they supported the government’s proposal. However, criticism among the opposition was unanimous, uniting the traditional right, the far right and the far left.

– [O objetivo] is to limit as much as possible the access of the unvaccinated to social life activities – said the president, who declined to confirm whether he would run for re-election, despite campaigning for months, saying only that he would “like” to do so.

Lawmakers who had criticized Macron forced the session to be suspended overnight, hours after Macron’s interview was announced on Tuesday night. The debate is due to resume on Wednesday afternoon, and MPs are asking Prime Minister Jean Castix to appear before the House to explain Macron’s speech.

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“The president can’t say things like that,” said Congressman Christian Jacob, the leader of the traditional Republican party. The party’s candidate for Eliseo, Valerie Pecres, said she “raised these comments,” noting in an interview with CNews that “insults are never a good solution.”

Right-wing leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen wrote on Twitter: “The president shouldn’t say that… Emmanuel Macron is not fit for his office.” Opinion polls indicate that she is the favorite to compete in the second round with Macron, surpassing ultraconservador polemista Eric Zemmour, who accused the president of “public and public cruelty to the despised French.”

Jean-Luc Melenchon, who is running for Alicia under the acronym Radical Left, Unconquered France, described the president’s speech as a “surprising confession”:

“Of course, the vaccination card is a collective punishment for individual freedom,” he added.

On Tuesday, France recorded 271,686 new cases of Covid-19 daily, which is the highest number of daily infections since the beginning of the epidemic. The country has one of the highest vaccination rates in the European Union, with more than 90% of the adult population immunized. About five million people remain without a dose.