The presidential hopefuls continue to take a stance on the health restrictions imposed by the government, despite being exempt from them under the Constitution. Following La République en Marche (LRM) and Les Républicains (LR), the French Communist Party (PCF) announced on Friday, December 31, that it would request a health pass during meetings led by National Secretary Fabien Roussel and enforce crowd limits.
During an interview on TF1 on Friday morning, the Communist candidate expressed his desire to ask participants to present either proof of vaccination or a negative test result, even though a political party cannot legally make such a request. “We will distribute an FFP2 mask to each attendee,” Roussel added, emphasizing the need for social distancing.
FFP2 Masks to Be Distributed at LFI Meetings
France’s left-wing party, La France Insoumise (LFI), has also decided to provide FFP2 masks, which are more effective at limiting the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, to attendees at its public meetings. This initiative will begin at the next meeting featuring Jean-Luc Mélenchon, scheduled to take place in Nantes on January 16, 2022, according to campaign manager Manuel Bompard.
The candidate for the Les Républicains party, Valérie Pécresse, will also enforce crowd limits and request vaccine passes at her meetings, as stated by her deputy Eric Ciotti, who represents the Alpes-Maritimes region and supports her campaign.
“This is a matter of fairness. It is unacceptable to impose crowd limits on other gatherings yet fail to respect these guidelines during political meetings.” Ciotti emphasized, “As Valérie Pécresse will soon become President of the Republic, she is now driven by a sense of responsibility to better protect our citizens.”
Health Pass Requested by the PS, But Not by Reconquest!
The presidential party, LRM, promptly announced that it would apply crowd limits to its future meetings, following the announcements made by Mr. Castex. In contrast, other parties, such as the far-right movements of the National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, and the Reconquest! movement, led by Eric Zemmour, have stated that they do not intend to limit the number of participants at their public meetings. “We are doing what the Constitution allows us to apply, which is to ensure that there are political meetings to inform the French people,” Sébastien Chenu, spokesperson for the RN, repeated on Friday, adding that this topic would be addressed during the executive office meeting on Monday.
The Socialist Party (PS) candidate, Anne Hidalgo, has also announced that she will apply all relevant rules for her public meetings, as stated by her spokesperson, Mathieu Klein. “Wearing a mask was mandatory, and a health pass was required” for previous meetings, recalled the mayor of Nancy. “Let us be cautious that the democratic debate is not hijacked by this peripheral debate.” Klein urged, instead wishing to focus on discussing “substantive issues to resolve the health crisis.”
