Emmanuel Macron Says France's COVID Strategy Is To 'Piss Off' The Unvaccinated
He wants to make it harder to have fun without a vaccine.
French President Emmanuel Macron doesn't have a lot of patience for those who are not vaccinated.
Macron pissed off a bunch of people in France after saying that the government’s vaccine strategy is designed to "piss off" those who are unvaccinated amid a COVID-19 surge.
"I am not about pissing off the French people," Macron told the Le Parisien newspaper on Tuesday, as translated by The Guardian. "But as for the non-vaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And we will continue to do this, to the end. This is the strategy."
He added that he wants to put pressure on the unvaccinated by limiting their access to social activities, and he intends to do that by making it harder to get a health pass in France.
Macron made the comments ahead of a big debate in French parliament about its health pass, which allows people to eat indoors, go to movies and attend various big events, as well as for long-distance travel on planes and trains.
Under the current rules, you must be fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test result to get the pass, but Macron wants to change that so only the vaccinated will be able to get it.
"In a democracy, the worst enemies are lies and stupidity," he said.
"We have to tell them: from 15 January, you will no longer be able to go to the restaurant," Macron told the paper. "You will no longer be able to go for a coffee, you will no longer be able to go to the theatre. You will no longer be able to go to the cinema."
Macron's opponents were fired up about his comments in parliament late Tuesday, BBC News reports. One of them called Macron's language "unworthy, irresponsible and premeditated," while National Assembly member Marine Le Pen, who is running for president in the upcoming election in April, declared that "a president shouldn't say that."
France's vaccination rate is high, with more than 90% of adults having received two doses, according to BBC.
Macron has been trying to reach the 5 million remaining holdouts ahead of the next presidential election in April, although he hasn't said yet whether he'll run for re-election.
Health Canada has a robust website with all the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines and can answer any questions you may have.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.