French President Emmanuel Macron reveals wild strategy to ‘piss off’ unvaccinated

The President of France has come under fire after saying his government is deliberately trying to make life tough for the unvaccinated.

French President Emmanuel Macron has sparked intense backlash after revealing part of his Covid strategy was to “piss off” unvaccinated residents.

Earlier this week, France announced a fresh plan to crack down on the unvaccinated.

Under a proposed new bill, unvaccinated residents could be barred from entering restaurants, bars and other public venues.

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In an interview with Le Parisien on Tuesday, Mr Macron said: “I am not about pissing off the French people [as a whole].”

But when it came to the unvaxxed, he said it was a different story altogether.

“But as for the non-vaccinated, I really want to piss them off,” he said.

“And we will continue to do this, to the end. This is the strategy.

“In a democracy, the worst enemies are lies and stupidity. We are putting pressure on the unvaccinated by limiting, as much as possible, their access to activities in social life.”

If adopted, the tough new bill will kick in from January 15, and will replace the current health pass system, which requires proof of full vaccination or recovery from Covid-19 before an individual is able to access public venues.

Patients wait to be tested for Covid-19 in Paris as case numbers soar across Europe. Picture: Stephanie De Sakutin/AFP

It would allow workers to carry out identity checks on customers if their vaccine pass was in doubt, and venues that fail to check the authenticity of customers’ passes could face stiff penalties.

Those people using a fake pass will face up to five years behind bars and a fine of €75,000 ($A117,000).

However, the proposed rules would not apply to workplaces, social services or healthcare settings.

Meanwhile, France has also announced isolation changes for those who test positive, with the fully vaccinated only having to isolate for seven days instead of 10, although the unvaccinated will generally still need to abide by the 10-day isolation rule.

Mask mandates will also be extended to include children aged over six at public venues.

And from mid-February, booster shots will be required four months after a second Covid vaccination, instead of the current seven months, for a person to be considered fully vaccinated.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he is deliberately trying to make life tough for the unvaccinated. Picture: John Thys/Pool/AFP

Mr Macron told the publication that while around 90 per cent of the eligible population was vaccinated, a “small minority” was resisting.

“How do we reduce that minority? We reduce it – sorry for the expression – by pissing them off even more,” he said.

“When my freedoms threaten those of others, I become someone irresponsible. Someone irresponsible is not a citizen.”

But his straight-shooting message hasn’t gone over well with some, as critics accuse him of using inflammatory language and of being out of step with the views of many.

The leader of the far right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, said Mr Macron’s choice of words was “not worthy of the office” of president and that Mr Macron was “turning the unvaccinated into second-class citizens”.

Fresh virus wave sweeps across Europe

France is currently in the grip of a fresh Covid wave that is also devastating the rest of the continent.

On Tuesday this week, France reported a record 271,686 new cases in just 24 hours, with government spokesman Gabriel Attal claiming cases were reaching “stratospheric levels” in the Ile-de-France region and other areas, with infections set to climb far higher in the weeks ahead.

The President’s bold words come after the emergence of yet another Covid variant in France late last year began to attract global attention.

A new Covid variant emerged in France in late 2021. Picture: Stephanie De Sakutin/AFP

So far, only 12 positive cases of the IHU strain, or B. 1.640.2, have been confirmed in the Marseilles region of southern France.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) finally addressed the new variant this week, with the global health agency’s Covid incident manager Abdi Mahamud fronting the press in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday.

But while he admitted the variant “has been on our radar”, Dr Mahamud said it was a positive sign that IHU had not spread rapidly.

“That virus had a lot of chances to pick up,” he said.

While WHO is investigating the IHU strain, it will only be declared to be a “variant of concern” if it is found to pose a serious risk.