In an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien earlier this week, Macron said that he wants to use new restrictions to make life very difficult for the unvaccinated. He used the word “emmerder”, which is considered a swear word in French.
The statement created a great deal of debate, and Macron was criticized not only for his attitude towards the unvaccinated, but also for the wording itself.
At a press conference in Paris on Friday, Macron says he stands by his words.
– People can be upset about sayings that seem everyday, but I stand by it. I’m outraged at the situation we are in, that’s where the real divisions in the country are, he said before continuing:
– We have to tell them that they will no longer be able to go to restaurants. You will no longer be able to go out and have a coffee. You will no longer be able to go to the theater. You will no longer be able to go to the movies, Macron said.
He also repeated a controversial sentence from the interview, where he said that “irresponsible people are no longer citizens” – also with reference to the unvaccinated.
“Being a citizen entails rights and duties, and duties come first,” he said.
“The idea of freedom that some of our citizens present as being free not to be vaccinated, it stops where you violate the freedom of others, where you endanger the lives of others,” Macron said.
(©NTB)
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