Emmanuel Macron said on Friday January 7 that he « assum[ait] totally “ the words he said in an interview published on Tuesday by the newspaper The Parisian, where he affirms his desire to“Piss off” the unvaccinated, accusing some of them of “Of their freedom, which becomes an irresponsibility, a slogan”.
“It was my responsibility to sound the alarm a bit, that’s what I did this week, so things could move even faster. “
“We can get emotional over forms of expression that seem familiar, that I fully assume”, declared the President of the Republic during a press conference given at the Elysee Palace, together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. He added : “I am moved by the situation in which we are, the real divide of the country is there, when some make of their freedom, which becomes an irresponsibility, a slogan. “
An assumed strategy
The President of the Republic went on to say that ” not only [les non-vaccinés] endanger the lives of others, but they restrict the freedom of others and that I cannot accept ”. Returning to the context of his interview, the latter however advanced: “I cannot allow debates to flourish in our country which would consist of saying: ‘let’s not treat them. not by (…) choice, no, and I also said it very clearly. “
Emmanuel Macron also asserted his “Strategy, which is simple: vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate”, and argued that “It is a completely European movement which places restrictions on people who are not vaccinated”. “I say it with a lot of will and force: we must do it for all of our compatriots who make the effort to be vaccinated and who, through the irresponsibility of certain others who, sometimes by making choices, are contaminated “, he argued.
“And we must do it also for our compatriots who sometimes allow themselves to be taken by obscurantist speeches, by speeches of fear: they do not protect themselves while science, research and European technological and productive excellence are theirs. allow “, continued Mr. Macron. Supporting the French Head of State, Ursula von der Leyen considered that “The vaccination pass is an instrument to protect the vaccinated”. For her, “This discussion about responsibility and freedom is very important in our society during a pandemic”.
Words that triggered the anger of the opposition
In the midst of a debate on the implementation of the vaccine pass to fight against the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, Emmanuel Macron had clearly displayed his intentions to the readers of the Parisian who asked him about the unvaccinated. “Me, I’m not for pissing off the French. I plague the administration all day long when it blocks them. Well, there, the unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And so, we will continue to do so, until the end. That’s the strategy “, he notably proclaimed.
These words of the head of state had triggered Tuesday evening the new suspension of the examination of the bill transforming the health pass into a vaccination pass at the National Assembly. While the deputies were considering the amendments to the text when the interview was published, at around 9 p.m., Mr. Macron’s words sparked an uproar in the opposition benches, making it even more heated and difficult continued examination of the text. The opposition members therefore voted to suspend the session and demanded the arrival of the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, to explain these remarks.
The latter went to the Palais-Bourbon at the end of the afternoon on Wednesday to answer the arrests, before resuming the examination of the text, finally adopted on Thursday. In front of the deputies, as well as earlier in front of the senators, Mr. Castex defended the head of state, affirming that the latter sits on the side of the majority represented by vaccinated people and affirming that this statement was shared by some French : “What the President of the Republic said, I hear it everywhere and you know it. “ An argument taken up by the whole of the majority, which never ceases to affirm that the President of the Republic says “Out loud what the French think whisper”.
Traveling to Béziers this Friday, Marine Le Pen (National Gathering) again attacked Emmanuel Macron for his comments on the unvaccinated, calling him “Arsonist who comes to blow up the debate” on pandemic management.