Protesters against vaccination passes gathered in cities across France on Saturday, condemning President Emmanuel Macron's intention to "infuriate" people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by tightening restrictions on their civil liberties, Reuters reported.
Macron said this week that he wanted to irritate unvaccinated people by making their lives so complicated that they would eventually be vaccinated. Unvaccinated people are irresponsible and unworthy of being considered citizens, he added.
In Paris, protesters responded by adopting his slang wording, chanting "We will infuriate you."
Others carried slogans reading "No to the vaccination pass," a reference to Macron's legislative pressure to require proof of vaccination, access to places such as cafes, bars and museums.
Protesters also took to the streets of Marseille, Nantes and Le Mans, among other cities.
"(Macron's words) were the last straw. We are not irresponsible, "said hospital administrator Virgin Already, who avoided compulsory vaccination for health workers because she contracted the coronavirus late last year.
Protesters accuse Macron of violating their freedoms and treating citizens unequally. He says freedoms have responsibilities that include protecting the health of others.
France has registered more than 300,000 new coronaviruses for the second time in a week on Friday. Hospitalizations, including patients with Covid-19 in intensive care units, are constantly increasing, which puts a strain on the health care system.
Some hospitals report that about 85% of intensive care patients have not been vaccinated against Covid-19. The data show that 90% of people over the age of 12 who are eligible for coronavirus vaccination are fully vaccinated.
People in France already have to present proof of vaccination or a negative test in order to enter restaurants and bars and use interregional trains. But as infections with the Omicron strain increase, the government wants to abandon the testing option.
Three months before the presidential election, Macron's rude language seems to have been calculated, affecting growing public frustration with the unvaccinated.
His Conservative rival, Valerie Pecres, said Macron was driving a wedge into the country. Far-right candidate Eric Zemour condemned what he said were "childish" statements by the president.
Protesters on the streets of the capital accused Macron of politicizing the pre-election pandemic.
"I want him to anger drug dealers and criminals, not ordinary people," said a 55-year-old protester who wished to remain anonymous because he ran a business.
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