French President Emmanuel Macron has said that while his current coronavirus policy is to protect the public, he intends to "piss off" unvaccinated people in the process. Juste des vibrations.
Speaking to Le Parisienon Tuesday, Macron - who has served as France's leader since 2017 - said “I am not about pissing off the French people [...] But as for the non-vaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And we will continue to do this, to the end. This is the strategy.”
Members of his party then had to come to his defence, stating that the "intention" behind his desire to "hassle" those who are still unvaccinated is "to protect the public" and nothing more - noting that the nation currently has over 300,000 daily cases.
This comes after France's national assembly suspended its debate over vaccine passports and whether those who have not yet taken up the jab should be banned from various parts of public life as the Omicron variant continues to surge across Europe.
Places like Austria have already made vaccines compulsory and other countries facing a surge in numbers, like Germany, are also considering similar policies as lockdowns are creeping back in.
The legislation was expected to be approved in a vote this week but has obviously angered anti-vaxxers, with several French MPs stating that they have received death threats.
Moreover, deliberation was halted for a second consecutive time after members of the opposition complained that the president's language was problematic and divisive, with some calling it "unworthy, irresponsible and premeditated".
The country has also recently declared the discovery of a new covid-19 strain dubbed IHU; first detected back in November of 2021 - around the same time as Omicron was found in South Africa - the variant is thought to have as many as 46 mutations.
While it is not yet known if it is more transmissible or dangerous than other types of covid. Macron's decision to "piss off" the unvaccinated seems like a wise one, as the continent faces yet another unpredictable strain.
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