France’s slow vaccine rollout could harm President Macron’s chances of re-election

CNBC reports that France is currently lagging far behind other European nations with its Covid-19 vaccine rollout, which could potentially hurt the re-election chances of President Emmanuel Macron.

As of Friday, 80,000 French citizens had been vaccinated against the coronavirus so far. In comparison, neighboring Germany has done hundreds of thousands of inoculations.

The success or failure in vaccinating the population will likely 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 worried that a poorly-executed vaccine rollout now will harm his chances of winning another term,” Jessica Hinds, a European economist at Capital Economics, told CNBC.

“A slow pace of vaccination would limit the government’s ability to lift restrictions that are taking their toll on the economy and people’s daily lives. This would clearly be unpopular among (French) voters, particularly if other countries such as Germany are able to remove them sooner,” Hinds said.

Red tape has been the main reason for the delays. Citizens have had to get a pre-vaccination consultation and get consent from their doctor before a jab.