French President faces backlash after using "vulgar" wording for unvaccinated

After delivering a provocative warning to those in France who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 that he would squeeze them as much as possible by limiting access to vital parts of life, President Emmanuel Macron has faced backlash in parliament.

Competitors already in the race accused Macron of overstepping the line with his words, despite the fact that he has not yet formally registered his bid for re-election scheduled in April.

The controversy triggered a new delay in the passage of legislation aimed at tightening France's COVID restrictions at a time when the country is seeing record daily infection rates, exacerbated by the virus's Omicron strain.

"As for the unvaccinated, I really want to p*** them off," he said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien on Wednesday.

The word comes from the French word "merde," which means "s***." It is considered obscene slang in France.

He went on to say that this would include "restricting their access to social activities as much as possible."

"We need to inform (the unvaccinated)... You will not be allowed to go to the restaurant any more. You won't be able to go to the theatre or have a cup of coffee. The president stated, "You will no longer be able to attend to the movies."

"We'll keep doing it till the finish." Macron went on to say, "This is the strategy."

According to government statistics, 91 percent of French people over the age of 18 have had all of their vaccinations.