Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Is Macron losing control of France?

A bonfire at the Marseille carnival on 21 March (photo: Getty)

There may be a touch of the Monday blues for Emmanuel Macron this morning as he scans the headlines in France. A new poll reveals that vaccine scepticism in his country has reached record levels, thanks to his recent belittling of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Sixty-one per cent of those canvassed expressed their doubts about the vaccine, up 18 per cent from last month. Only 23 per cent said they had confidence in the AstraZeneca jab. In contrast, 75 per cent of British people have faith in the vaccine.

But if the French are increasingly reluctant to be vaccinated, they are determined to enjoy the arrival of spring – Covid restrictions or not. In Marseille yesterday around 6,500 people danced and partied at a street carnival, many of them wearing fancy dress. ‘The young have had enough of being confined,’ said 26-year-old Romain. ‘There are no frail elderly here, only the young.

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