Is Macron exploiting Covid?
France's National Assembly has approved the introduction of the health passport. However, the vaccination and testing obligations are less restrictive than the government had previously planned. Macron described those who do not want to be vaccinated as irresponsible and selfish. Many accuse the president of exploiting the pandemic to expand his power.
The perfect opportunity to expand power
France's president is hijacking power, criticises psychologist Georges-André in Mediapart:
“Let's not kid ourselves: the mistakes made by politicians in dealing with the ongoing health crisis that shows no sign of ending offer an opportunity for the introduction of social, legislative, administrative, security policy and anti-freedom regulations. These make it possible for the president to constantly expand his instruments of control and repression, because he illegally procures a large portion of legislative power, and this allows him to enact tailor-made and opportunistic laws, as well as to limit the challenges to symbolic and fundamental protest.”
Accusations of dictatorship are out of place
The executive is acting in a fully democratic manner, Le Temps stresses:
“Nothing justifies the use of the word dictatorship to describe the decisions taken to contain the spread of the epidemic and encourage the population to get vaccinated. Like its European neighbours, the current French government has made use of the health emergency in one form or another. This merits a debate and, by the way, our Constitutional Council has yet to pass judgement. However, the claim by some opponents of vaccination and of the bill that the government is exploiting the virus to trample on freedoms only reinforces the rampant conspiracy theories.”