French President Emmanuel Macron has sparked new criticism from his political opponents after saying he will make life difficult for those citizens who refuse a Covid-19 vaccine according to CNBC News.
“I am not for bothering the French. I rant all day at the administration when it blocks them. Well, there, the unvaccinated, I really want to hassle them. And so, we will continue to do it, until the end,” the French leader said in an interview with Le Parisien, published Tuesday night,
according to a CNBC translation. Macron used the French word “emmerder” in his interview with Le Parisien, which can be roughly translated as “hassle” or “annoy,” or would be close to the phrase “piss off.”
The already fractious debates in parliament on the proposed bill were suspended for a second consecutive night following the president’s remarks, which drew fierce condemnation from opposition lawmakers according to France24 News.
“No health emergency justifies such words,” said Bruno Retailleau, head of the right-wing Les Républicains party in the upper house Senate. “Emmanuel Macron says he has learned to love the French, but it seems he especially likes to despise them. We can encourage vaccination without insulting anyone or pushing them to radicalization,” Retailleau added.
