As of: January 7th, 2022, 4:39 pm
French President Macron has defended his harsh words on the unvaccinated against criticism – and also his choice of words. It is his responsibility to “sound the alarm”. Unvaccinated people endangered the life and freedom of others.
French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his harsh words about anti-vaccination campaigns. Macron said he was fully committed to what he said. One could get upset about formulations that appeared colloquially, but he could not accept that some endangered others in the name of their freedom. “In my opinion, it was my responsibility to (…) sound a little alarm,” said Macron. He did this.
“When some make a war cry out of their freedom (…), they not only endanger the lives of others, but also reduce their freedom. I cannot accept that,” said Macron. “If you want to be a citizen, you also have to consent to your civic duties.”
Macron had received all sorts of criticism with the announcement that he would pester vaccine opponents. He used the verb “emmerder”, which goes back to the word “merde”, the French term for shit. Opposition politicians found this in style. Macron admitted that his choice of words may have appalled one or the other. But he takes responsibility for it. France’s strategy in the fight against the corona pandemic is “vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate”.
Macron actually wanted to avoid hurtful words
It was not the first time that Macron was so harsh – but he had promised improvement 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.”
France had registered 332,252 new infections on Wednesday, more than any other country in Europe in one day. About 77 percent of the population are fully vaccinated, which corresponds to 91 percent of adults. Macron promoted the vaccination certificate planned by the government, which the National Assembly has already approved. After that, unvaccinated people should no longer be allowed into restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums and sports arenas. The pass should also be required for long-distance trains, buses and domestic flights. The Senate has yet to approve.
With information from Stefanie Markert, ARD-Studio Paris