Macron’s expletive was not a slip

A majority of the French think their president shouldn’t use swear words. But they agree with Emmanuel Macron on the matter. Meanwhile, the National Assembly approves the introduction of a vaccination pass.

P.President Macron’s expletive language for the unvaccinated is met with divided echoes. According to a poll by the Harris Interactive polling institute, 60 percent of French people disapprove of the language. Macron had used the verb “emmerder”, which is colloquially used for “to annoy someone very badly”, with a slightly scatological undertone. He wanted to really annoy the unvaccinated, declared the president, who otherwise prefers to quote writers from Goethe to Victor Hugo. He also immediately became specific and said that they should be largely excluded from social life and no longer be able to travel, go to restaurants or cafés or have fun in the cinema or theater.

68 percent of French respondents said that a president should not use slang expressions. Only the supporters of the presidential party La République en marche (LREM) disagree: they approve of the swear word to 60 percent. As for the gist of the President’s statement, most French people agree with Macron. Sixty percent agree with government policies of increasing pressure and restrictions on people who have not been vaccinated to get vaccinated. The level of agreement is even higher among the vaccinated respondents: 68 percent are in favor of government policy. Among the LREM supporters, it is even 90 percent of those surveyed. “What the President has said is in line with the anger of a large majority of French people at people who do not want to be vaccinated. If you speak to the French today, many will tell you that people who decide not to have a vaccination should not even be given intensive care, ”said government spokesman Gabriel Attal.