While the first debate remained mostly civilised, some MPs criticised that it revolved more around vaccines in general than a vaccine mandate.
Two petitions are being debated in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday. The first positions itself against the introduction of a vaccine mandate. Around 11,500 people signed this petition, making it the fifth most signed public petition.
The woman behind the petition states that she thinks everyone should be free to choose whether they want to be vaccinated or not. She argues that not everyone has the same risk of falling ill, that the vaccine does not protect against an infection, and that nobody knows how many doses are still necessary. The petitioner is also worried about potential side effects that may not have been discovered until now.
The petitioner, who claims not to be a part of the antivax movement, was joined by a Nobel Prize winner, Professor Luc Montagnier. The French virologist discovered HIV, i.e, the virus that causes AIDS, in 1983. However, nowadays the 89-year-old is mostly known for his rather bizarre views on the vaccines against Covid-19. Montagnier claims that they are "poison" and would cause mutations. He also states that the coronavirus "is not the plague or cholera" and that the Omicron variant is "rather harmless".
Dr Romain Blum is also against "forced vaccination", but not against vaccination in general. But when it comes to side effects, "we are facing a tsunami", the dentist claims. Dr Blum also argued that the vaccine is less effective against the current variants. He thinks that the debate about a vaccine mandate should be postponed until new vaccines become available.
Another woman talked about her experience with side effects she claims were caused by the vaccine, notably Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Following these accounts, Minister of Health Paulette Lenert warned against a trivialisation of the virus, which is "not just a little flu". Lenert stated that if someone had an alternative solution to get out of the current situation, she would be "more than grateful". She acknowledged that introducing a vaccine mandate is not an easy decision but stressed that politicians had to assume responsibility.
The petitioners welcomed that they were able to express their opinion. Some MPs criticised that the debate revolved more around the question "vaccines yes or no" rather than "vaccine mandate yes or no".
Following this first debate, MPs will discuss a second petition which positions itself against the use of "genetical vaccines" for children. This petition is supported by Dr Benoît Ochs.
