Shrill protests in France as Macron targets unvaccinated

By JOHN LEICESTER and SYLVIE CORBET
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has provoked outcries in parliament and shrill protests from election rivals by using a vulgarity to describe his strategy for pressuring vaccine refusers to get coronavirus jabs. Macron used the French word “emmerder,” which is rooted in the French word for “crap” and means to rile or to bug. He spoke in an interview published by French newspaper Le Parisien on Tuesday night, as lawmakers debated new measures that would allow only vaccinated individuals to enjoy leisure activities like eating out. Macron said, “The unvaccinated, I really want to bug them.” His use of earthy language immediately complicated the already difficult passage in parliament of the government’s planned new vaccine pass.