The presidential candidates continue to position themselves in relation to the health restrictions imposed by the government, from which they are however exempted by the Constitution: following La République en Marche (LRM) and Les Républicains (LR), the French Communist Party ( PCF) announced, Friday, December 31, that the health pass would be requested during meetings held by National Secretary Fabien Roussel, and that the gauges would be applied.
The Communist candidate declared on TF1, Friday morning, wanting to ask the participants to present “Proof of being vaccinated or proof of having been tested before”, although a political party cannot legally demand it. “We will distribute an FFP2 mask to each person who will attend our meetings”, also said Mr. Roussel. They must also maintain a safety distance.
FFP2 masks distributed at LFI meetings
France rebellious (LFI), for its part, will also provide an FFP2 mask, more expensive and more effective to limit the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, to the public at its public meetings. This initiative will apply “From the next meeting of Jean-Luc Mélenchon scheduled for Nantes on January 16, 2022”, said campaign manager Manuel Bompard.
For her part, the candidate of the Les Républicains party, Valérie Pécresse, will apply for her meetings the gauges imposed on all other gatherings, said deputy Eric Ciotti, deputy for Alpes-Maritimes and support of his campaign, specifying that the pass vaccine would also be requested.
“It’s a point of equity. It is out of the question that we impose a gauge on shows and that political meetings do not respect this framework ”, he insisted. “Valérie Pécresse will be President of the Republic in a few months. It is therefore now animated by this spirit of responsibility to better protect our fellow citizens ”, also assured Mr. Ciotti.
Health pass requested by the PS, but not by Reconquest!
The presidential party, LRM, was quick to announce that it was going to apply the gauges in its future meetings just following the announcements of Mr. Castex. Other parties, like LFI, but also far-right movements of the National Rally (RN), Marine Le Pen, or the Reconquest! Movement, Eric Zemmour, have let it be known that they are not did not intend to limit the number of participants to their public meetings. “We do what the Constitution allows us to apply, that is to say that we ensure that there are political meetings to inform the French”, repeated Sébastien Chenu, spokesperson for the RN, on Friday, who will address the subject during his executive office on Monday.
As for the Socialist Party (PS) candidate, Anne Hidalgo, she will apply “All the rules that apply to the Republic” for its public meetings, repeated its spokesperson, Mathieu Klein. “Wearing a mask was compulsory and the health pass required” for previous meetings, recalled the mayor of Nancy. “Be careful that the democratic debate is not confiscated by this peripheral debate”, he nevertheless urged, wishing instead to debate the “Substantive subjects to resolve the health crisis”.
