French President Emmanuel Macron revealed on Wednesday his intention to “make life difficult for the unvaccinated people in France.”
“I really want to hassle them, and we will continue to do this to the end,” Macron said in press statements.
However, his comments have drowned harsh criticism, prompting MPs to suspend debate on a law barring the unvaccinated from much of public life.
Omicron has become the main coronavirus strain in France, where the number of new infections has topped 200,000.
The Public Health agency said in its latest weekly survey published Thursday that “62.4 percent of tests showed a profile compatible with the Omicron variant” at the start of the week compared to 15 percent the previous week.
The Omicron variant’s advance was expected because it is highly contagious. It has become dominant in other European countries including Britain and Portugal.
The strain contributed to the current flare-up in cases, which surpassed 200,000 in the 24-hour period for the second day.
At the beginning of December there were fewer than 50,000 daily cases. In early November the daily data broke the 10,000 threshold for the first time since mid-September.
French hospitals are now caring for 18,321 Covid-19 patients. 1,922 new admissions between Wednesday and Thursday, with more than 3,500 people in intensive care.
