The obligation to vaccinate: How does the executive justify its refusal to implement it

The Socialist Party has been demanding this since last July. Former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe spoke in his favour, and Italy issued a decree on Wednesday to force it on those over 50 from February 15. But for the government, compulsory vaccination is a red line it still refuses to cross. In its argument, the executive authority shed light significantly on the problem of controls and penalties.

“If you say tomorrow to all adults, we should be vaccinated. How do we control it and what is the punishment? That is the real issue”The President of the Republic said in his interview with Parisian Published Wednesday, January 5 in addition to wishing to‘Get lost’ Unvaccinated. “Am I going to force people to vaccinate? Imprison them and then vaccinate them? You’re going to tell me, ‘You’re a stranger, you… We won’t.'” To achieve the same goal, he is betting everything on the vaccination card, which was voted on Wednesday night to Thursday by the National Assembly. “You have to tell them: From January 15th you will no longer be able to go to the restaurant, you will no longer be able to take a cannon, you will no longer be able to have coffee, you will no longer be able to go to the theatre, you will no longer be able to Than go. In the cinema…”, he added.

The same arguments were made Thursday morning by the Prime Minister. “The goal is: to vaccinate as many people as possible. Compulsory vaccination is a means, it is a tool”Jan Castex explained on RMC and BFMTV. “We already have difficulties with the entry permit verification, we will have more control over vaccine adherence.” “What is compulsory vaccination? It’s a fine. The goal is to vaccinate people, not get money into state coffers. We’ll control that how? There is a theme to run. The corridor is much more effective.”, he completed.

Another argument made by the executive branch: the amount of fines that would burden the unvaccinated, and often the most modest, categories of the population. “The difficulty of punishment is to say to people who are already financially unstable, you have not been vaccinated, and you will be fined”, President of Representatives Larim Christophe Castaner appreciated today franceinfo. “You have a whole class of unvaccinated people who are not necessarily antiproliferative but who are deprived, in working-class areas, far from care. To impose an obligation to vaccinate would be a fine on these people would not allow us to achieve our goal.”Jan Castex explained. In his interview with ParisianEmmanuel Macron also refused to impose fines of 1,000 or 2,000 euros ‘Very humble people who have not been vaccinated’.

Finally, the government does not want to compare the situation in France with the situation in European countries that have imposed a vaccination obligation: Italy for those in their fifties from February 15, and Austria for all its residents from February 15. “Many countries have implemented compulsory vaccination, and they don’t necessarily have the same vaccination rate as we have in France”, Christophe Castaner justified. “Those who have had very low vaccination rates. It has allowed them to progress, but not even to where we are.”, as Jan Castex said.

However, today 73.8% of the French population is fully vaccinated, compared to 75.3% in Italy and 73.1% in Austria. Even if the vaccination rate in the latter country actually increased in November and December in view of the vaccination obligation.