Incompetence sinks Macron as COVID-19 sweeps France

The questioned mismanagement of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in France is plunging Emmanuel Macron into the deepest public rejection. The latest polls reveal that just 36% of the population approves his governmental management, compared to 59% who have a negative opinion.

The public rejection of the President coincides with an exponential growth of pessimism and fear. According to several studies, between 65% and 68% of citizens claim to be afraid of being victims of the coronavirus, which in Francem until this Wednesday, April 15, amounts to more than 134 thousand cases and 17,000 deaths.

The fear is not gratuitous, since the European nation occupies the fifth place in number of infections, and the situation does not seem to improve at the moment.

I was not prepared for the pandemic

In one of his most recent speeches, the right-wing populist was forced to accept that his government was not prepared to face the pandemic.

«Were we prepared for this crisis? At first glance, not enough. But we managed», he assured.

The lack of preparation has been more than evident. Macron and his team have come under fire from various sectors, and the harshest criticism come from the health sector.

More than 600 French doctors accused Macron, his Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, and the former Health Minister, Agnès Buzyn, of lying and of not taking measures to stop the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic.

Gathered in the group called C19, the doctors based their complaint on the argument that the authorities knew the magnitude of the danger, but did not react adequately.

They even filed a lawsuit before the Court of Justice of the Republic, based on article 223-7 of the Penal Code, which provides for actions against the non adoption of voluntary measures to combat a natural disaster, with the risk to the safety of the people as a consequence.

The detonator for the professionals’ position arose from the statements of the former Health Minister to the newspaper Le Monde, in which she assured that since January she had exposed to the Prime Minister Philippe and President Macron the need to postpone the municipal elections of last March 8 in the face of the threat of the outbreak.

«When I left the Ministry, I cried because I knew that the tsunami wave was in front of us. I was assuming that the elections would not take place”, said Buzyn, who left office on February 17 to replace Benjamin Griveaux as official candidate for the mayor’s office of Paris. Griveaux was forced to resign due to the disclosure of a sex tape.

In the end, the second round of the elections, scheduled for March 22, had to be suspended. Philippe acknowledged that the warnings of the then Minister of Health existed, but denied that they were taken lightly, reported Prensa Latina.

For his part, Macron assured that his government addressed the crisis from the beginning. «By no means, we have not ignored the signs (about the seriousness of the situation) since the crisis in China broke out. I have approached this crisis graly and seriously”, he told Rf1.

Doctors without masks, gowns, or respirators

Another major criticism during the health emergency has been the lack of medical supplies. «Without masks or hydroalcoholic gel and with expired equipment, this is how French doctors and nurses are fighting against the coronavirus. They feel helpless, stressed and angry», informed the AFP agency in a report.

Faced with the health crisis, artificial respirators are the main weapon to treat severe cases, but these equipment are scarce in France. For this reason, the Ministry of Health was forced to ask veterinarians to lend theirs.

Masks are also scarce, which are so necessary to protect the medical team that cares for the infected.

«We have zero equipment. I had to ask for masks at the pharmacy with my professional card. They gave me 10 units, which we shared. And they are surgical masks, they are not FFP2. I have never, never experienced a situation like this», the nurse, Kaouther ben Amo, told AFP.

“I have no mask, no gel, nothing; and, above all, I have no information. I have learned from the media that ibuprofen should not be prescribed, with that I tell you everything! ”, condemned the family doctor, Jean-Paul Termine.

Given the shortage, Macron had to acknowledge the incompetence of his administration.

«We are without robes, gloves, gel. We could not distribute as many masks as we would have liked (…) I have seen failures, slowness, unnecessary procedures, weaknesses in our logistics», he admitted.

The right-wing president had no choice but to go to China to buy the masks and promise to increase local production.

“Before the crisis, we produced 3.3 million masks a week in France. At the end of April, we will produce more than 10 million, we will have more than tripled production in a few weeks. We will continue with this effort to multiply our production capacities and I want that, at the end of the year, we do not have to depend on other countries», he said.

Contradictions and lack of coordination

A highly criticized point of the management of Macron and his team is that despite the existence of permanent government communication, the actions do not coincide with the governmental announcements.

«When the French President announces on his Twitter account an «immediate» action «coordinated » with Donald Trump, the French people later discover that the President of the United States announces, alone, great measures purely national (only for the USA)», reported ABC.

This medium recalled that the Executive decided to disallow some pharmaceutical products for the treatment of the coronavirus, but then it contradict itself by authorizing them days later, something that in the eyes of public opinion is a symbol of improvisation.

A study carried out by the firms Odoxa and Dentsu Consultion, for France Info and Le Figaro, revealed that 55% of those surveyed consider that the Government has not become aware of the seriousness of the situation. Meanwhile, 69% think that it is not clear and 79% perceive that they do not know where they are going to.

Haste to lift quarantine

Like all neoliberal leaders, Macron is urged to reactivate the economy and is waiting for the moment to lift the quarantine that, despite the strong outbreak experienced by neighboring Italy and Spain, decided to implement late on March 16.

Last Monday, the President announced that his country will remain in quarantine until May 11, despite the fact that 7 out of 10 citizens trust confinement as the main preventive measure.

As of that date, the restrictions will gradually relax, and will include the «gradual» reopening of kindergartens and primary and secondary schools.

Concerned about the productive revival, he said that the easing of the measures will also seek that «as many people as possible can return to work.»

France 24 reported that Macron indicated that the relaxation of the restrictions will be accompanied by a greater ability to apply coronavirus discard tests in the country.

According to the Head of State, from that date «we will be able to evaluate anyone with symptoms» so as to quarantine those who are ill.

He also maintained that that day, the State will be in a position to distribute masks to the general public and acknowledged that their use could become «systematic» for «the most exposed professions and for certain situations, such as public transport»,  said La Vanguardia.

In a further example of lack of coordination and improvisation, Macron’s team had to go out to «clarify» the President’s statements.

In order not to raise false expectations, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe indicated that the measures to restrict movements will be gradually lifted and always according to the evolution of the pandemic.

In turn, the interior minister, Chistophe Castaner, warned that the date of May 11 «is an objective, not a certainty.»

The head of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, declared that the reopening of schools is one of the most delicate steps, motivated by the alert of the parents’ associations about the lack of masks, hydroalcoholic gel, and the impossibility of maintaining the distance in classrooms with thirty children or adolescents.

In response to Macron’s remarks, the leader of the La France Insumisa movement, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, warned that the end of confinement is «a dangerous policy».

«Macron announces an almost general lack of confinement in work and school for May 11. Why this date? Why is there still no means of protection planning? What are you going to do about the second wave of the epidemic? A dangerous policy. Let’s be careful», said Mélenchon on his Twitter account.

For his part, the first secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, stressed that Macron had to learn a lesson in «humility».

«The President seems to have received a lesson in humility. You have heard some of our warnings about the social emergency. May 11 is ambitious to make up for the incomprehensible delays and current shortages. Health should not be sold in favor of economic problems», he said.

Perhaps the President should listen to his citizens, since 6 out of 10 of the French people support that the extension of confinement be decided «solely on the basis of sanitary criteria», according to the most recent study by the Odoxa pollster.