Sharp interview
“Unvaccinated pests” – Macron takes on vaccination refusals
Macron had his country vaccinated – against all odds
© Liewig Christian / ABACA // Picture Alliance
In an interview, French President Emmanuel Macron once again took a clear position against vaccination refusals. Macron announced that he would “torment the unvaccinated” to the bitter end. The opposition is foaming.
In the fight against the corona pandemic, French President Emmanuel Macron has noticeably tightened the tone towards unvaccinated people. The head of state said in an interview with the newspaper “Le Parisien” that he will pester the unvaccinated “to the bitter end” by restricting their “access to the activities of social life” as much as possible.
“I’m not going to jail them, I’m not going to force vaccinate them,” Macron said of his strategy for dealing with vaccinators. Instead, the government’s message to the unvaccinated should be: “From January 15th you can no longer go to the restaurant, you can no longer drink red wine, you can no longer drink coffee, you can no longer go to the theater, you can.” don’t go to the cinema anymore … “
Macron’s statement sparked severe criticism from the opposition. The extreme right-wing presidential candidate of the Rassemblement National, Marine Le Pen, called Macron unworthy of his office. Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon described the statement as “shocking”. Green candidate Yannick Jadot wrote in a vaccination appeal that Macron did not care about the people. Socialist leader Olivier Faure spoke of a statement that was not on the level of a president.
There were also debates over Macron’s statement in France’s National Assembly. Therefore, the chamber again interrupted its deliberations on tightening corona rules for unvaccinated people during the night. Macron had addressed these planned rules in his remarks. The government wants only vaccinated people to have access to restaurants, cultural sites or long-distance trains from mid-January. It is uncertain whether the schedule can be adhered to. After the National Assembly, the Senate, as the upper house of parliament, must also approve the law.
The number of infections in France has continued to rise over the past few weeks. It was not until Tuesday that a record was recorded with more than 270,000 new infections reported in one day. Nationwide, the incidence, i.e. the number of infections per 100,000 people within a week, was most recently more than 1,800.
In France, presidential elections will take place in April. Against this background, too, importance is attached to Macron’s tone of voice. In particular, it is said that the demonstrative harshness of the president is intended to attract potential voters, who the Macron camp locates in the camp of the vaccinated.