The French president wants to keep the existing corona measures.
(Photo: Reuters)
Paris Emmanuel Macron presented the neighboring countries of France as a warning example: The fifth wave had started in Europe, said the president in a televised address on Tuesday evening. He explicitly mentioned the high number of infections in Germany and Great Britain.
France is also seeing an increase in cases, but the situation is still relatively relaxed. The nationwide incidence is currently 75 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days, in Germany this value was last over 200.
Macron did not announce any new restrictions in his address – but at the same time he clearly rejected any easing. Distance rules, mask requirements and the so-called health pass would apply until further notice. Since the summer, the French have had to present proof of vaccination or recovery, or at least a current negative test result, in bars, restaurants, long-distance trains and shopping malls.
The French parliament recently passed a law that enables the use of the health pass, which is comparable to the 3G rule in Germany, until the summer of 2022. The controls in gastronomy and other areas are to be tightened in the coming weeks. “We need to be more vigilant,” said Macron.
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Above all, Macron relies on vaccination. France is one of the countries where the vaccination campaign is the most advanced: 87 percent of the population over 12 years of age have received at least two doses and are therefore considered fully vaccinated. The president warned the six million French over twelve years of age who are still without vaccination protection: “To be free in France requires being responsible and showing solidarity.”
Macron is putting pressure on the booster vaccinations: For people over 65 years of age, the health pass is only valid from December 15 if they have received a third dose. From the beginning of December, the dates for vaccination boosters will also be released for people over 50 years of age.
After his appeals, Macron switched to campaign mode
The president used less than half of his almost 30-minute speech on the corona situation. After his appeals to the French in the fight against the virus, he switched to election campaign mode. Macron has not yet officially announced that he will apply for re-election in spring 2022. Hardly anyone doubts his candidacy, however.
Macron recalled the billions in government aid in the pandemic, which not only saved many French people from sliding into poverty and numerous companies from bankruptcy, but also enabled the economy to make a strong comeback. The growth this year will amount to more than six percent of the gross domestic product, which means that France is “at the top of the major economies in Europe”. The unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in almost 15 years.
The President reaffirmed his “Agenda 2030”, presented in mid-October, with which he wants to make the French economy greener and more digital by the end of the decade. In the next five years, 30 billion euros are to be invested in this. For an “independent and cheap” energy supply, Macron announced the construction of new nuclear reactors on Tuesday evening, but without specifying the plans.
Macron will probably no longer take up the pension reform, which has been postponed several times, before the election. “The conditions for this are currently not in place,” he said. With a view to a possible second term in office, however, the president declared that “clear decisions” would have to be made in the coming year in order to make old-age provision in France future-proof. This also means that the French have to work longer.
In the beginning of the election campaign, Macron is primarily relying on its economic balance sheet and the crisis mode in the pandemic. The president only briefly touched on the debate about national identity, immigration and Islam, which the right-wing populist Éric Zemmour, who has risen in the polls, is fueling. Macron showed understanding for “uncertainty, doubt, sometimes tiredness and anger”. But France must resist “dogmas, hostility to progress and a return of nationalism”.
More: How other countries are better managing the pandemic