Macron defends his rude remarks about France’s unvaccinated

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his rude remarks about the country’s minority of vaccine refusers, saying he cannot accept that they infringe on others’ freedom. The 44-year-old outspoken president, who is expected to seek re-election later this year, made headlines earlier this week by using the word “emmerder” — rooted in the French word for “crap” and meaning to rile or to bug. He described this as his strategy for pressuring vaccine refusers to get coronavirus jabs. Speaking in a news conference in Paris Friday, Macron acknowledged the term may have upset some, but said he takes full responsibility for it. The country reported this week Europe’s highest-ever single-day confirmed infection count.