Macron’s British travel ban is entirely political

Emmanuel Macron subjected France to a two-hour primetime television interview on Wednesday evening which must have been a pre-Christmas treat for the nation.

Just under four million tuned in to see Macron discussing his achievements as president in what was a polished performance; not since Tony Blair has a world leader been such a consummate actor as Macron. He declined to confirm that he will be standing for a second term in April’s presidential election but his people know that he will.

There was one fly in the ointment, however, a buzz which has been distracting Macron for months: Covid. France is only just emerging from a ‘fifth wave’ of the virus which last month prompted the government to launch its booster campaign and, among other measures, close nightclubs. That wave was well-timed for Macron, petering out in the middle of December, thereby allowing him to munificently decree a near normal Christmas after the misery of last year.