Macron Says Showing Police Your Papers to Visit a Cafe is About “Freedom” FRANCE
After video emerged of Parisians having to show their vaccine
passport papers to police in order to sit outside a cafe, President
Macron asserted that the system protected people’s “freedom.”
Yes, really.
As we highlighted yesterday, footage showed uniformed French police
patrolling cafes and restaurants demanding proof of vaccination.
Those unable or unwilling to show their papers face massive fines,
while business owners could even go to prison if they refuse to enforce
the system.
However, the new program may end up putting a lot of people out of
business given the multitude of images that showed normally busy cafes
and restaurants all but empty.
Ignoring the threat of legal action, half of the establishments canvassed by Reuters said they were refusing to enforce the checks.
Despite the fact that the French haven’t experienced such an intense
‘papers please’ society since the Nazi occupation, President Macron
insisted that vaccine passports were about protecting people’s
“freedom”.
“It’s about citizenship. Freedom only exists if the freedom of
everyone is protected,” Macron said, adding, “it’s worth nothing if by
exercising our freedom we contaminate our brother, neighbor, friend,
parents, or someone we have come across at an event, Then freedom
becomes irresponsibility.”
However, Julien Odoul of the right-leaning Rassemblement National
slammed the French government, asserting, “The constitutional council
has approved a two-tier society where there are two categories of
citizens who don’t have the same rights, depending on their vaccine
status.”
“This is Macron’s society and one that we condemn and reject. The principles of liberty and equality are sacred,” he added.
Leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon agreed with Odoul, describing the system as “absurd, unfair and authoritarian.”
Having been initially rolled out for anyone wishing to visit a bar,
restaurant, cafe, cinema or use intercity trains, the vaccine passports
will be extended on August 30 to include anyone who works in a job that
involves interaction with the public.
France has fallen.
