[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] French President Emmanuel Macron is facing backlash after referring to unvaccinated individuals against COVID-19 as a "strategy to annoy them."
The controversy began with an interview released around 9 p.m. local time on the 4th, during which President Macron engaged in a 2-hour and 50-minute Q&A session with seven readers of the daily newspaper Le Parisien on various topics.
When asked about France's COVID-19 vaccination strategy, President Macron stated, "Currently, over 90% of almost everyone in France has been vaccinated against COVID-19," adding, "Those who refuse the vaccine are a very small minority."
He continued, "We will not imprison those who are unvaccinated or force them to get vaccinated, but we will annoy them to reduce their numbers."
President Macron elaborated, "I really want to annoy those who are unvaccinated. That is why we will continue to the end, and that is our strategy."
He also made it clear that starting January 15, those who are not vaccinated will not be allowed to enter restaurants, bars, cafes, theaters, or cinemas.
Following Macron's remarks, the National Assembly's review of the vaccine pass bill was halted. For Macron's strategy to be implemented, the vaccine pass bill submitted by the government must pass through the parliament. However, after failing to reconcile differences late into the night on the 3rd, the Assembly resumed discussions on the day but suspended them again due to the controversy sparked by Macron's comments.
Fabien Roussel, leader of the far-left Communist Party, said, "I want to know if you came here to amend the bill that angers unvaccinated people."
Christian Jacob, representing the right-wing Republicans (LR) in the Assembly, criticized, "I support vaccination, but I cannot support a bill that torments the French people."
Presidential candidates who would compete against Macron if he seeks re-election also condemned his remarks.
Val?rie P?cresse, governor of ?le-de-France and the Republicans' confirmed next presidential candidate, expressed anger, saying, "It is not the president's role to distinguish between good and bad French people."
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) who reached the runoff in the 2017 presidential election, described Macron's remarks as "vulgar and violent." She added, "This proves that Macron has never considered himself the president of all French people."
In France, once the vaccine pass is introduced, only vaccinated individuals will be allowed to enter crowded places such as restaurants, cinemas, gyms, museums, or use public transportation like airplanes and trains.
Meanwhile, France recorded a new daily high of 271,686 new COVID-19 positive cases the previous day, breaking the record set just four days earlier. The number of new deaths was reported as 351.
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