Health pass: "A dictatorship is not that", emmanuel Macron defends himself in the face of criticism

 GOVERNMENT Without naming anyone, the President denounced the political cynicism of some

Emmanuel Macron denounced during his visit to the 18th stage of the Tour de France in the Hautes-Pyrénées, the political cynicism of some who speak of dictatorship after the measures on the extension of the health pass. — Daniel Cole/AP/SIPA

Under fire from critics. While several political figures have qualified as a dictatorship the fact of making vaccination or anti-Covid tests mandatory to go to the theater, the restaurant, or even travel, Emmanuel Macron defended this Thursday the extension of the health pass. "We have people today who, with a lot of political cynicism, use the fear of some of the confusion that can arise on certain subjects, the false information that is conveyed, to make it a political project," declared the Head of State in front of the press, after the arrival of the 18th stage of the Tour de France in Luz-Ardiden (Hautes-Pyrénées).

"I think this cynicism must be fought hard because it puts the country at risk," he continued. For the President of the Republic, "there are debates on all subjects, we live them permanently but if we empty the words of their meaning, the risk we run is to threaten our democracy itself".

"All your freedoms are maintained"

"There is a political use" of the word dictatorship "by some", but "it is a civic duty, whatever political opinions one has, whether one is a politician, journalist, intellectual or others, (...) never to fall into the use of these words," he insisted, stressing that "some have lent themselves to it at other times, with great ease."

"Noa dictatorship, that's not it," he said. "It is not a place where all your freedoms are maintained, where we have maintained the entire electoral cycle, (...), where you can exercise your rights, where we reimburse all your tests, where the vaccine is free, (...) it's not called a dictatorship, I think words have meaning." "There are oppositions that exist, that I fully understand, that I respect, (...) but when you have the weapons, you cannot deliberately decide not to use them against this virus," he insisted.