Sharjah24 – AFP: Booster jabs, nuclear energy, pension reform - in a televised address, French President Emmanuel Macron speaks on the priorities for the last five months of his term, ruling out pension reform before 2022 and announcing over-65s will need booster jabs to have a valid health pass after December 15.
Emmanuel Macron, president of France stated, "All the studies show that six months after the vaccine, immunity decreases and therefore the risk of developing a serious form increases again. The solution to this drop in immunity is the injection of an additional dose of vaccine, the so-called booster. A campaign was launched at the end of the summer for all those over 65 and the most vulnerable, and we now need to speed it up. If you were vaccinated more than six months ago, I call on you to protect yourself by making an appointment now with a vaccination centre, your doctor or your pharmacist. From December 15 onwards, you will need to provide proof of a booster jab to extend the validity of your health pass."
He added, "People under 65 also see the protection conferred by the vaccine decrease over time. In fact, as I speak, more than 80% of the people in intensive care are over 50. This is why a campaign for booster jabs will start at the beginning of December for our fellow citizens between the ages of 50 and 64."
"On July 12, I spoke to you about the need for pension reform. The health situation that we are experiencing and which is deteriorating throughout Europe, the unanimous wish expressed by trade unions and professional organisations to concentrate efforts on the recovery, and the need for harmony at this moment in time mean that the conditions are not right to revive this project today," he continued.
The president of France concluded, "If we want to pay for our energy at reasonable rates and not be dependent on foreign countries, we must continue to save energy and invest in the production of low-carbon energy on our soil. This is why, in order to guarantee France's energy independence, to ensure our country's electricity supply and to achieve our objectives, in particular carbon neutrality in 2050, we will for the first time in decades relaunch the construction of nuclear reactors in our country and continue to develop renewable energies."
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