Delta is dangerous, vaccination is vital, pension reform is postponed

What the main French dailies say about Monday night’s solemn address to the nation of President Emmanuel Macron.

The world.
“Emmanuel Macron forced to curb the Covid, and his reform plan”, this is how the main title of the centrist Le Monde sums up the 30-minute televised address given last night by the French leader.

The widely contested proposals for pension reform and social security reorganization are certainly moving forward. But not right now. The president has vowed he will delay implementing his big social policy changes until the French economy has a chance to weather the epidemic.

Le Figaro
Le Figaro on the right emphasizes the dangers of the Delta variant, compulsory vaccination for caregivers, and the need for a health passport if one wants to do virtually anything in public this summer.

Release
“Get an injection, or stay home!” would be a rough translation of the front page title of Liberation de gauche. The same newspaper notes that the presidential speech had an immediate impact, with 20,000 people scheduling vaccination appointments every minute after Macron’s warning, almost bringing health system computers to their knees. Over a million people signed up for a photo last night, setting an all-time record.

Almost all French dailies wonder how the companies that welcome the public will organize the control of health cards. From the beginning of next month, you will need proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter anywhere (shops, cafes, museums), or anything (planes, trains and buses), in where there are 50 or more people. There will likely be delays.

The cross
The Catholic newspaper Le Croix says that “Macron leaves no choice to the unvaccinated.”

The echoes
The business daily Les Echos claims that the Delta variant saved Macron from the dangers of his pension reform. What they mean is that the promised delay in implementing the changes that have divided his own party and led employers and unions to distraction, means the French leader can suspend all this harsh talk until in the presidential election next year.

Humanity
Finally, the communist daily L’Humanité warns us that the president has, once again, tightened the screws, forcing everyone to be vaccinated, warning that our professional lives will be longer and harder once Emmanuel Macron has the economic and political latitude to impose its liberal neovision on the rest of us.

Obviously, the Communists were not impressed by a president who promised that we could “invent a future without fear”.