French President Emmanuel Macron.
LOIC FOR SALE AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – France is now far behind other European nations with the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine, which could affect President Emmanuel Macron’s chances of re-election.
By Friday, 80,000 French citizens had been vaccinated against coronavirus. In comparison, neighboring Germany has made hundreds of thousands of vaccinations.
The success or failure of vaccinating the population is likely to shape the political debate as the campaign for the 2022 presidential race heats up in the coming months.
“While the 2022 presidential election still seems a long way off, President Macron is certainly worried that launching a poorly executed vaccine now will affect his chances of winning another term,” Jessica Hinds, a European economist at Capital Economics, told CNBC on Thursday.
Macron stood side by side with far-right leader Marine Le Pen in an opinion poll published in October.
The French president complained that the rate of inoculation was not “worthy of that moment or of the French people” and said that the situation “must change quickly and especially,” Le Journal du Dimanche reported earlier this month. The president’s office was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC on Monday.
“A slow pace of vaccination would limit the government’s ability to lift restrictions that affect the economy and people’s daily lives. This would be clearly unpopular among (French) voters, especially if other countries, such as Germany, are able to eliminate them earlier, “Hinds said.
Bureaucracy was the main reason for the delays. Citizens had to get a pre-vaccination consultation and get their doctor’s consent before taking a shot.
“What strikes me most about the French strategy is that public officials have not paid much attention to logistics,” Jeremy Ghez, a professor at HEC Paris Business School, said in an email.
Reports in the country also suggest that there is a high sense of anti-vaccine in the population compared to other nations.
French Health Minister Olivier Veran initially suggested that the 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 French people had plans to get the coronavirus vaccine.
But the French government now wants to reverse the situation by simplifying the process. The French summer said that people aged 75 and over will be able to make an appointment online or by phone to be vaccinated.
The country is also expanding 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 at least until mid-February, and the night will be extended until the end of January.
Social constraints affect the economy. France’s GDP is expected to contract by more than 9% by 2020.
The slower the vaccine is launched, the longer the economic downturn.
“The French economy is under anesthesia and only when you pull the tax plug will you really know how fast economic actors can return. If this happens quickly, I like Macron’s chances, because there are so few alternatives starting today. no, I would argue that all bets are off, “Ghez said of how economic performance will influence the presidential vote.
Macron defeated Le Pen in 2017 on a pro-EU agenda.