The E.U. And AstraZeneca row.

No Urmstongran that is not the case. There are ongoing legal arguments over the AZ contract and the contract lawyers still seem to regard it as open to debate, unlike the armchair experts on here.
There is no doubt that the EU made the wrong call over the threat to invoke Article 16, but they changed their minds 45 minutes later and said they had got it wrong. I have no idea why you would think the French press thought this painted France in a bad light and would consequently ignore it.
It is a huge story in the UK; it really isn't one here.

Sarnia

The EU made a mess of it, pure and simple. The UK got in on time, for once, ordered the vaccines and paid for them. Clear cut to me. Seeing the EU act like this shows them in a very nasty light.

And I suppose that the UK threatening to break the Rule of Law over an international treaty and threatening to invoke article 16 themselves a couple of weeks ago doesn't show us in a nasty light?

Hypocrisy abounds, I think.

I agree biba. But cooperation is, after all, a two-way process.

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Large funds were put forwards to help produce the vaccine, with the understanding the EU would get a substantial share. The issue is not with the EU's 'bad organisation' per se- but with productions issues which meant AstraZ went for first come first serve - leaving the EU wtihout.

At the end of the day- it is essential that people in Ireland and in the EU are vaccinated- due to the essential frequent movement between the UK and all of EU. Crowing over the rooftops and rattling flags and syringes- will leave us all exposed. It is like pollution, it has no borders - the only way forwards is cooperation- and not just on vaccines.

You have to understand that none of this UK/EU vaccine argument is a big story in France, I have barely seen it reported.

Hmm. Not surprised really Mamie as it doesn’t put them in a good light does it? I can quite understand why they’d want to play it down.

Other European newspapers (Danish & German for example) are not to reticent ...

We also ordered lots of the Sanofi vaccine, too.

The EU made a mess of it, pure and simple. The UK got in on time, for once, ordered the vaccines and paid for them. Clear cut to me. Seeing the EU act like this shows them in a very nasty light.

I agree Witzend ?

According to what I read the other day, while disparaging the AZ vaccine for over 65s, Macron admitted that he wasn’t aware of the scientific facts.

I’m sure the fact that the French Sanofi vaccine, which they’d presumably been at least partly relying on, has failed, had nothing whatever to do with it...

Social media is saying that the vaccine fiasco by the EU is Boris's Falklands moment and he's now riding high in the Polls. ??????

Credit where credit is due I think ?

Since taking over from her father, Le Pen has run twice for the French presidency, losing badly in 2017 to political newcomer Macron in a defeat that she took months to recover from.

But recent polling shows her closer than ever to her ultimate prize and has led to a rash of new speculation about whether the anti-EU, anti-immigration populist could finally enter the Elysée Palace.

Despite recent setbacks for fellow ideologues such as Donald Trump and Matteo Salvini in Italy, a survey reported earlier this week showed her within striking distance of Macron.

The poll conducted online by Harris Interactive suggested that if a final-round presidential run-off were held today Le Pen would garner 48 percent while Macron would be re-elected with 52 percent, Le Parisien newspaper reported.

The margin, the narrowest ever recorded, set off alarm bells in the French political mainstream as the dual health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic sweep across the country.

FRANCE24 1 day ago

If you look at the Journal du Dimanche today Callistemon, you will see Macron is at 40%, up 2% from last week.
www.lejdd.fr/Politique/sondage-macron-progresse-de-deux-points-avec-40-de-francais-satisfaits-de-son-action-4020479
I would be interested to know the source for the 29% quoted if you have it.

If you order first you get it first.

I don't think those figures are right Callistemon. According to the ones I have seen Macron's popularity was at 40% last week and has certainly been pretty high for an incumbent president through 2020. I am a bit suspicious of polls by Sunday papers.
You have to understand that none of this UK/EU vaccine argument is a big story in France, I have barely seen it reported. The big Covid news stories are the possibility of lockdown (not happening at the moment) and the spread of the English (sic) variant.
As for Macron / Le Pen - as one of my students said to me, "we will moan and moan about him and then we will vote for him again because we don't want le Pen".

I wouldn’t be so pleased about Macrons unpopularity when the alternative is lePenn.

Crowing and chest beating, swords and syringe rattling, is a recipe for disaster.

Yes, perhaps the EU should give it a rest, particularly Macron, whose popularity is going down and down in France at 29% now, apparently.
Just 29% of respondents said they were satisfied with his leadership, according data from research group Ifop, published in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper. The Ifop poll showed a fall from 34% support last month and 39% two months ago.

biba, one minute you’re agreeing with “someone” that the UK government has been incredibly quiet about the issue, the next you seem to be accusing it of sabre rattling, crowing and chest beating. Which is it to be, as the two seem to be mutually exclusive?

Being happy and proud that ones country has done something well is not crowing, chest beating, sabre rattling unless it’s the UK and particularly England. National pride is allowed everywhere else in the world.
Our country has done something well, acknowledge that at least.

perhaps, in this case - but there are so many others, like security sharing, and all exports and imports, and so so much more. Intelligent cooperation if the only way forwards- or we will all be losers.

Crowing and chest beating, swords and syringe rattling, is a recipe for disaster.

Friends and partners. Errr, I don't think so, and I wish Boris would stop referring to the EU as such!

I for one would find it very interesting to see the reaction within Europe. After all, we can smile and walk away (thanks Boris) but they can't.

"Our good friends in Europe" is ok.

As long as they never say "Our good friends the EU” - that would be a downright lie.

I admit that I have not checked the informationbecause I had the information from a reliable source

I was not sure which vaccine it was they will not initially use in France but knew it was an early one which did not have many over 65s in the trials - it is a precautionary measure - other age groups will have it.

It wasn't the European vaccine shortage per se that created the panic inside the EU, it was the realisation that of all countries, it was the UK that was powering ahead in protecting their people by eschewing the bureaucracy of the EU and adopting a nimble quick footed approach.
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Sorry, posted before rephrasing.