The outrage and words used by French President Emmanuel Macron this week against the unvaccinated provoked reactions. When will the new measures take effect?
The faster the number of cases increases, the greater the pressure on the government to quickly adopt new measures to deal with the coronavirus. According to the government, unvaccinated people will have restrictions in cinemas, theaters or bars from mid-January. Parliament, however, does not seem to approve of these plans, much to the annoyance of President Emmanuel Macron.
“I like to break it to them and that is why we will continue to do so until the end,” Le Parisien wrote on Wednesday, referring to President Macron’s words about the unvaccinated. The slang used by President Macron annoyed many and angered the opposition.
Marin Le Pen’s far-right opponent called the French president indecent. However, the Socialists also considered that Macron’s statement was not appropriate for his position.
However, given that the presidential election will be held in just over three months, his statements are not surprising.
The cases are high
Case numbers are soaring, with over 332,000 infections in one day. Without the pandemic, Macron would be anything but in a bad position in the presidential race. The 44-year-old politician was ahead of opinion polls last spring. However, the outbreak of the pandemic sometimes forces him to make unpopular decisions in the midst of an election campaign. Macron, after the mandatory introduction of vaccination for health workers in the summer, as well as free access only to those who have recovered, been vaccinated or tested, became the occasion for mass demonstrations.
The government also insisted on other measures. No food on the long-distance train for three weeks, no more food for standing at the bar and for some time mandatory teleworking.
But the most extensive measures now will affect the five million unvaccinated people in the country in the future. The so-called health pass must become a vaccination certificate. A negative coronavirus test is no longer enough to enter theaters, cinemas or bars.
The government will later determine the measures that will apply to those who have recovered.
Macron referred to the new planned measures, saying that he wants to continue harassing the unvaccinated. Shortly before in the National Assembly there was intense debate on the issue and many spoke of regression.
Macron is not only wrong …
Following the opposition’s sharp criticism of Macron’s choice of words, Prime Minister Jean-Castex and government spokesman Gabriel Atal defended the planned measures against the unvaccinated. “Who bothers who today?” Atal asked, saying that those who oppose vaccination are destroying the lives of doctors, the elderly and shopkeepers.
Castex said what Macron said was what he heard when he visited the Intensive Care Unit.
The debate in Parliament will most likely continue on Monday. The deputies will also call on the Constitutional Council to check various points in the text. However, it seems unlikely that the new regulations will be implemented on January 15 as the government would like.
DW / Rachel Bosmayer / Editor: Maria Rigoutsou
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