French President Emmanuel Macron received backlash from anti-vaccine residents after using harsh language to criticize unvaccinated people in his attempt to garner support as the elections are approaching.
Macron shocked the whole nation when he used vulgar words three months before the presidential elections this year. The French president is using his harsh language to relay not only a public health message but also a political agenda.
French President's Harsh Language
The official seemed to have considered that using the growing public anger against unvaccinated residents was more beneficial for him than risking the anger of the anti-vaccination minority that he had very little chance of winning over. Macron's recent address used his harshest language yet to urge people to get vaccinated.
While the French president said that he will not be putting unvaccinated residents into prisons or forcing them to get the shots, he vowed to make their lives harder. His plan effectively kicked off his campaign for re-election on Wednesday, drawing clear lines between his supporters and opponents, the New York Times reported.
Macron's statement where he used the term "emmerder" in French which is translated to putting someone in the "merde" which is translated to "shit" received condemnation from his political rivals. The French president's remarks came as the country's government is seeking to push through legislation that would mandate a vaccine against the coronavirus infection before a person is allowed to enter public spaces.
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The debate surrounding the proposal began on Monday, a bill that would make it mandatory for people to show proof of being vaccinated against the disease. This means that people cannot simply show a negative coronavirus test or proof that they have recovered from the sickness to gain access to public venues and transport.
The country's Public Health Department revealed that overall, France's numbers showed 77% of the population is fully vaccinated with three doses, meaning they got a booster shot. Last week, Health Minister Olivier Veran said that there were only four million adults remaining in the country who have not yet been vaccinated against the coronavirus infection, France24 reported.
Mandatory Vaccinations
For a second night on Tuesday, the session in the National Assembly was brought to a standstill after opposition delegates complained about Macron's harsh language. One of the leading figures described the incident as words being "unworthy, irresponsible, and premeditated."
Many expect the legislation to be approved by officials during a vote later this week but has caused anger among vaccine opponents and various French MPs revealed that they have received death threats over the proposal. Several European countries have started introducing mandatory vaccines with Australia leading the way for people over the age of 14 starting next month.
On the other hand, Germany is planning to implement similar legislation for adults while Italian authorities said on Wednesday that they would make vaccination against the coronavirus compulsory from Feb. 15 and for residents over the age of 50.
Macron's opponents quickly criticized the French president for his harsh words, one of whom was right-wing Republican candidate Valerie Pecresse. She expressed her outrage over the incident and claimed that Macron was accusing unvaccinated residents of not being citizens of the country, BBC reported.
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