Covid-19: French MPs receive death threats as a result of their support for the vaccine bill.
Naeem
2 min read
As they discuss the Covid-19 legislation, which would prohibit the unvaccinated from most of public life, several French MPs say they have received death threats.
With certain exclusions, the government is attempting to enact legislation requiring people to produce proof of vaccination in order to attend public venues and transportation.
Vaccine opponents have expressed their displeasure with the bill, which is anticipated to be adopted in a vote this week.
In the EU, France has one of the highest Covid immunisation rates.
According to the French government, at least 91 percent of the adult population has been fully injected.
Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, a member of the centre-right Agir party, shared an email she got on Sunday with violent threats to kill her for supporting the vaccination pass.
“Our democracy is in jeopardy,” remarked Ms Firmin Le Bodo, a pharmacist who administers Covid vaccines.
She claimed she had reported the threats to the police and would not be discouraged from supporting the vaccine bill in an interview with BFM TV.
Nama Moutchou of the Horizons party, who is also an MP, tweeted a similar message that included a screenshot of an emailed threat.
On Monday, Health Minister Olivier Véran spoke out against the death threats and “selfishness” of vaccine opponents in parliament.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said last week that police would beef up measures for elected politicians ahead of the vaccine vote.
MPs had received texts threatening to kill them for “attacking our freedom,” according to Barbara Bessot Ballot of the ruling En Marche! party.
She remarked on Twitter, “Those death threats are unacceptable.”
Throughout the pandemic, critics have accused French President Emmanuel Macron’s government of infringing on citizens’ rights by enforcing the Covid laws. Protests against the rules have occurred on a regular basis.
Many public places in France have required people to provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test for months.
However, in response to record rises in infections caused by the highly contagious Omicron and Delta strains of Covid, the French government has decided to remove the possibility to show a negative test.
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Once parliament has approved the vaccine bill, the government hopes to have it in place by mid-January.
The vaccine bill is anticipated to pass the House of Representatives early this week, before being considered in the Senate on Wednesday.
