Emmanuel Macron has sparked uproar by pledging to “p— off” France’s unvaccinated in denying them access to even more aspects of daily life.
The French president’s inflammatory comments came as the government seeks to push through parliament legislation that will make vaccination compulsory to enjoy cultural activities, use inter-city train travel or visit a cafe from January 15.
No longer will it be possible to have a recent test or a recovery from the coronavirus to qualify for the country’s Covid pass.
In an interview with Le Parisien put online on Tuesday night, the centrist French head of state said: “As for the non-vaccinated, I really want to p— them off.”
He used the verb “emmerder”, a word considered in France as vulgar slang, derived from the word “merde” which means “s—”.
The literal translation is “put in the s—”, though a more accurate translation is to hassle or bug.
“And we will continue to do this, to the end. This is the strategy,” he said.
Mr Macron added this would mean “limiting as much as possible their access to activities in social life”.
He went even further by saying: “When my freedom threatens that of others, I become an irresponsible person. An irresponsible person is not a citizen.”
