French President Emmanuel Macron.
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LONDON – France is currently far behind other European nations with the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine, which could harm President Emmanuel Macron’s chances of reelection.
As of Friday, 80,000 French citizens have so far been vaccinated against the coronavirus. In comparison, neighboring Germany did hundreds of thousands of inoculations.
The success or failure in vaccinating the population is likely to shape the political debate as the campaign for the 2022 presidential race heats up in the coming months.
“Although the 2022 presidential election still seems a long way off, President Macron is certainly concerned that a poorly executed vaccine implementation now will hurt his chances of winning another term,” Jessica Hinds, European economist at Capital Economics, told CNBC on Thursday. market .
Macron faced far-right leader Marine Le Pen in an opinion poll published in October.
The French president is said to have complained that the pace of vaccinations “was not worthy of the moment or of the French people” and said the situation “must change quickly and notably,” reported Le Journal du Dimanche earlier this month. The president’s office was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC on Monday.
“A slow rate of vaccination would limit the government’s ability to lift restrictions that are affecting the economy and people’s daily lives. This would clearly be unpopular with (French) voters, especially if other countries like Germany manage to eliminate them further. early, “said Hinds.
Bureaucracy has been the main reason for the delays. Citizens had to make a pre-vaccination appointment and obtain their doctor’s consent before a vaccine.
“What I find striking about the French strategy is that civil servants did not pay much attention to logistics, to details,” Jeremy Ghez, a professor at HEC Paris Business School, told CNBC by email.
Country reports also suggest that there is high anti-vaccination sentiment among the population when compared to other nations.
French Health Minister Olivier Veran initially suggested that careful distribution took into account concerns about the vaccine among the general population. An Ipsos survey published in late December showed that only 40% of the French had plans to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
But the French government now wants to reverse the situation, simplifying the process. Veran, from France, said people aged 75 and over could make an appointment over the internet or by phone to be vaccinated.
The country is also expanding its eligibility criteria and the government has promised that 1 million people will be vaccinated before the end of the month.
France was one of the nations most affected by the pandemic. Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday that restaurants and ski resorts will remain closed until at least mid-February and the evening curfew will be extended until the end of January.
Social restrictions are affecting the economy. France’s GDP is expected to have contracted more than 9% during 2020.
The slower the vaccine is implanted, the more parts of the economy will remain closed.
“The French economy is under anesthesia and only when you pull the fiscal cap will you really know how quickly economic actors can recover. If that happens quickly, I like Macron’s chances because there are so few alternatives today. If it doesn’t , I would say that all bets are off, “said Ghez of how economic performance will influence the presidential vote.
Macron defeated Le Pen in 2017 on a pro-EU agenda.