The author of this petition, Rodolphe Bacquet, is very active in the contested field of alternative medicine.
While the bill against the vaccine pass arrived Wednesday before the law committee of the National Assembly, a petition against this device, put online nine days ago, has just reached this Thursday, December 30 the million signatures. Called “No to the vaccine pass!“”No to discrimination against the French”, It castigates the new certificate as well as the government.
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In a letter, the author denounces a “breach of the rule of law“, And calls on deputies and senators to oppose the project:”Your responsibility is historical, continues the text, if you give the government the green light on the vaccination pass, you are laying the foundations for a model of society where the control of medical status will condition social life.“. At the end of the manifesto, there is a signature: that of Rodolphe Bacquet. The 37-year-old man, editor at “Total Health“, Is also editor-in-chief ofAlternative Well-Being, a publishing house that offers “health newsletters“. There are articles signed by naturopaths, fasting specialists, aromatherapists, etc. Thierry Casasnovas, ex-cantor of fasting and raw food on Youtube, targeted by a judicial investigation for “illegal practice of medicine», Is quoted there.
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By looking more closely at the publications of Rodolphe Bacquet, we see that he boasts several solutions to treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease or even osteoarthritis. In 2017, he put forward, in one of his letters, the story of a man claiming to have cured of prostate cancer by fasting. Last year, he promoted a tea that is said to have effects on breast cancer, preventing “cancer cells to feed and breathe“. In another publication, he offered five medicinal plants “more effective than drugs against Covid-19“. More recently, Rodolphe Bacquet praised the benefits of CBD, which could “advantageously replace other drugs“.
Contacted by us, and despite appearances, Rodolphe Bacquet does not qualify as a “antivax ”. According to him, the subject of his petition “speaks to all citizens who do not want to be discriminated against on the basis of their medical data ”. He explains that, according to clues “very clear“Which it has via”multiple channels“, The signatories are not just unvaccinated people:”There are comments from doctors and nurses who are overwhelmed by the situation“, He still says.
With this petition, Rodolphe Bacquet hopes to get the deputies and senators, as well as the government, to react. “We know that if the National Assembly does not vote it, there will be the subterfuge of 49-3», Continues the self-appointed spokesperson. “We address people without aggression, but with citizen anger“. If several political figures such as Marine Le Pen, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan or Florian Philippot have protested against this measure, Rodolphe Bacquet says he has not been contacted by any of them. However, he tells us that he has the support of a few senators.
“No political sense“
Can the petition really make a difference, as its author wishes? “Absolutely not», Categorically assures the political scientist Jean Petaux to the Figaro. “The signing of a million people on the internet, in disparate groups, is the most minimalist phase of any protest“, He continues, before adding:”It doesn’t make sense, neither political nor democratic“.
We know that the anti-vaccine community is quite active and organized online. We can make the hypothesis of multiple signatures ”
Thomas Erhard, political scientist at the University of Assas and Polytechnique.
According to him, what makes sense in the political debate is first of all the vaccination figure: “92% of the French population (eligible NDLR) is vaccinated. French support for vaccination is total“. In addition, there is a real “bias problem on an internet petition : it is impossible to verify if the figure is realistic“, He still says.
This is confirmed by Thomas Erhard, political scientist at Assas and Polytechnique University, also with the Figaro: “There is no verification on the identity of the users: each one can sign several times, it is enough to have several email addresses“. Numerous biases therefore make this figure of one million signatures unverifiable, “especially since we know that the anti-vaccine community is quite active and organized online. We can make the hypothesis of multiple signatures», Comments the political scientist. Contacted by Le Figaro, a representative of the leslignesbougent.org site – which hosts the manifesto – effectively explains to us not to do “moderation or a priori controlOn the petitions.
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