French President Emmanuel Macron argued on Sunday that refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 is not \u201cfreedom\u201d because anti-vaxxers infect and kill others through their \u201cirresponsibility\u201d and \u201cegoism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macron said<\/a> during a visit to French Polynesia that though \u201ceveryone is free to express themselves,\u201d<\/em> there is \u201cno such thing as freedom where I owe nothing to anyone.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n What is your freedom worth if you say to me \u2018I don\u2019t want to be vaccinated,\u2019 but tomorrow you infect your father, your mother or myself?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The French president argued that freedom \u201crests on a sense of reciprocal duty,\u201d<\/em> not selfishness. Macron also floated the possibility of a patient in hospital getting less medical attention as a result of medical professionals helping another person who refused the vaccine.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not freedom, it is called irresponsibility, egoism,\u201d<\/em> Macron declared, issuing a \u201cvery strong message\u201d<\/em> for \u201ceveryone to get vaccinated.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Tens of thousands of people in France protested the government\u2019s decision to introduce a vaccine passport and mandatory vaccination for certain professions this weekend. France\u2019s vaccine passport will prohibit people from entering restaurants, bars, museums, and more if they cannot provide evidence of vaccination or a recent negative test.<\/p>\n Similar massive protests against vaccine passports and lockdown restrictions have also been held in the UK, Italy, and Australia.<\/p>\n London protesters<\/a> held signs that read \u201cNo to forced testing\u201d<\/em> and \u201cNo to forced vaccination\u201d<\/em> during a \u201cFreedom Rally\u201d<\/em> of thousands on Saturday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last Monday that proof of vaccination would soon be required to enter nightclubs and other establishments.<\/p>\n Following the news that Italy planned to introduce a similar vaccine passport system, thousands of Italian protesters marched<\/a> across the country, including Rome and Turin, with some comparing Prime Minister Mario Draghi to Adolf Hitler.<\/p>\n