Corona situation in France: Macron provokes unvaccinated people

The corona numbers in France are increasing, with the introduction of a vaccination pass, the rules for unvaccinated people are to be tightened. Now President Macron has fueled this debate – with a single word.

He is not going to jail and will not force vaccinate her, says Emmanuel Macron. But: “J’ai très envie de les emmerder”, said the French President. He had a great desire to annoy the unvaccinated. That will be done until the end. That is the strategy.

It is Macron’s answer to a question from one of the readers who were allowed to ask him questions in the newspaper “Le Parisien”. Emmerder – there is “merde” in the root of the word – with all due respect: the French word for “shit”. However, it is a slang term in France. You could also translate it as: “go on the laces” or “pissing”. But it didn’t come across as colloquial, confirms an unvaccinated person on the radio:

This is not the first time Macron has come across as brisk – but he swore to get better in December. “There are words that can hurt. That is unacceptable. Respect is part of political life. I’ve learned something,” he said at the time. “Some of the things I said hurt people. I’ll never do that again. You can move things forward without hurting people.”

More than 270,000 new infections

When Macron gave the “Parisien” interview, the authorities reported a new daily high for new corona infections: more than 270,000. In terms of content, the president speaks for the majority of his compatriots who want stricter corona rules. Six out of ten French people even advocate a lockdown for unvaccinated people.

You can hear these voices in a market in northern France. “You have to call things by their name,” says one. Macron is fed up. “We’re restricted by these sinister people. Yes, his expression is violent for a president, but I wasn’t shocked.”

Another says: “He’s right about the content and the form. I’m a trader and, you know, the situation is sticky for us. That’s why they have to keep pushing the unvaccinated.”

New rules from mid-January

From January 15, one could no longer go to a restaurant, no more red wine or coffee, no longer go to the theater or the cinema, warns Macron in “Parisien”. This is what the vaccination certificate provides. The members of the National Assembly debated this last night.

But when the interview made the rounds, they broke off the debate. Macron is approaching the unvaccinated vulgarly in order to secure the votes of the fully vaccinated for the presidential election in April – 90 percent of the eligible voters – is an accusation of the opposition from the far left to the far right.

“Unite the French and not divide them”

Valerie Pecresse formulates another allegation. She is the presidential candidate of the conservative Republicans, is now in second place after Macron – and could therefore make it into the runoff election. Pecresse comments on Macron’s interview passage, whoever threatens the freedom of others with his own behavior is behaving irresponsibly and is therefore not a citizen.

A president of the republic must “unite the French and not divide them,” said Pecresse. “Today we absolutely have to restore the unity of the nation. The president does not have to choose who is a citizen and who is not. You have to end this presidency of disregard. And I will do that!”

Pandemic as an election issue

In the Elysée, the interview was checked and approved without any changes. So not a faux pas, but a political calculation. “Let’s talk openly: Who is spoiling who’s life today? For example, our nurses who have been working up to their necks in intensive care units for two years to save patients who are now essentially unvaccinated,” said government spokesman Gabriel Attal after a conference of the pandemic crisis team. “Those are the ones who don’t get vaccinated.”

The election campaign has its big topic – the pandemic. And a president who doesn’t just want to annoy the unvaccinated. But also expresses the desire to compete again.