A French GP said he had received a total of 4 doses of the vaccine since the end of February. Authorities have set up vaccination centres in some of the country s stadiums to accelerate the inoculation campaign, with pharmacists, dentists and even veterinarians being allowed to administer the jabs. The main problem is, however, the apparent vaccine shortages.

On Wednesday evening, Emmanuel Macron announced a nationwide lockdown of at least four weeks, arguing that the most effective response was mass vaccination. In order to accelerate the process, authorities have established vaccination hubs in several stadiums, which will start administering the jabs from early April. Authorities also gave the green light for pharmacists, dentists and even veterinarians to administer the jabs.

President Macron also took to Twitter to encourage people to have themselves inoculated. It is necessary to ensure that there are no interruptions in the process and it could continue even on holidays, he wrote. The administration of the jabs is facilitated by some 250 thousand experts, including doctors, pharmacists, firefighters, nurses and vets.

Some believe that the issue is not people s vaccine hesitancy and it s the shortage of vaccines that is causing a real bottleneck.

Ludovic Toro, a GP in Seine-Saint-Denis told BFMTV that he had bought a fridge to store the vaccines, but it proved unnecessary because he s only received 4 vaccine doses since 26 February. He even showed some photos to bolster his statement. In the first week he received one dose, in the second he got two, followed by one dose on the third week and none since then. He added that his surgery is fully equipped to administer jabs to his patients.

Several opposition politicians and public figures have criticised the government s vaccination campaign. National Rally President Marine Le Pen tweeted that Mr Macron s measures are too little too late, adding that the president s orders are inconsistent, which will have a negative impact on the French. 

President Macron has been waging a war against the virus since the beginning of the pandemic, but without enough ammunition, Ms Le Pen added. Initially, there was a lack of protective masks followed by a shortage of test kits, and now there are not enough vaccines.

In his speech on Wednesday, Mr Macron also spoke about the deeply divisive issue of school closures. Shutting down schools for a period of three or four weeks, including the spring break, is a sensible decision, Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer argued, adding that the 2020/21 academic year will likely be the least unconventional for French students in global comparison, as education institutions have stayed open as long as possible.

Of course, not everyone was happy with the government s measure, with one teachers union pointing out that three weeks is not enough to curb the spread of the disease. Guislaine David, secretary general of the SNUipp-FSU trade union, stressed that authorities should make good use of the 3-week break schools are forced to take (four-week pause for upper elementary school and secondary schools), and the inoculation of teachers should begin as soon as possible.

Valerie Pecresse, president of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France, also stressed that teachers and school employees should be vaccinated as soon as possible, because they are exposed to a higher risk of contracting the infection due to daily contact with a large number of students.

Addressing parliament on Thursday morning, PM Jean Castex spoke with appreciation about France s inoculation drive, even despite some heavy criticism. He was pleased with France s vaccination rate, pointing out that it was higher than in neighbouring countries. 

Latest figures from Statista.com appear to contradict this, as France s vaccination rate currently stands at 15.72 per cent. Numbers show that in countries neighbouring France, only Belgium has a lower vaccination rate, where only 15.3 per cent of the population have received the jab. As for other neighbouring countries, Spain boasts the highest vaccination rate at 16.55 per cent, closely followed by Switzerland at 16.54 per cent. Italy is next with 16.42 per cent, while Germany is doing a bit more poorly with a vaccination rate of 16.09  per cent.