Influencer in chief: Macron answers vaccine skeptics on TikTok and Instagram.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/world/france-macron-covid-vaccine-videos.html

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In the United States, the White House is teaming up with TikTok influencers to promote the safety and efficacy of vaccines. But in France, President Emmanuel Macron has decided to do the influencing himself.

“Many of you still have questions, are afraid; many hear about false information, false rumors — sometimes complete nonsense, let’s be honest,” Mr. Macron said in a video published on Instagram and TikTok this week that eschewed the gilded trappings of French officialdom.

Instead, in a rare display of casualness for a French president, Mr. Macron wore a simple black T-shirt and spoke directly into a camera held at arm’s length, YouTuber-style.

Looking slightly tanned, he spoke from the Fort of Brégançon, the French presidency’s summertime residence on the Mediterranean Coast — although only a flag and logo behind him hinted at anything official.

“I’ve decided to directly answer your questions,” Mr. Macron said, in an address that seemed mostly targeted toward young people. “Go ahead, ask them and I’ll try to be as direct and clear as possible.”

Mr. Macron’s social media Q. and A., with several videos posted so far, comes at a crucial time for France’s struggle against the Covid-19 epidemic.

Infections have surged in France’s overseas departments like Martinique and Guadeloupe, both islands in the Caribbean that are now back under lockdown. Mr. Macron’s health pass policy — barring access to many indoor venues to those without proof of vaccination or a recent negative test — has fueled growing protests around the country.

Some demonstrators are not opposed to vaccination but say the health pass is heavy-handed and infringes on civil liberties, and several political opponents say Mr. Macron should be trying to convince people to get vaccinated, not coercing them. Other demonstrators are opposed to the Covid-19 vaccines themselves.

In the videos, Mr. Macron tried to dispel worries and counter falsehoods about the vaccines, although it was unclear whether he was answering questions submitted by actual social media users.

“If you don’t do it merely for yourself, do it for those close to you,” he said in one video addressed to young people who argue the vaccine is superfluous for them because they aren’t high-risk patients. “The vaccine saves lives, the virus kills,” he said in another.

In the latest clip, published on Tuesday, he reminded viewers that vaccines had helped humanity eradicate diseases like smallpox and polio and that, since 2018, 11 different vaccines are already mandatory for children in France.

On mRNA vaccines, the innovative technology used in Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid shots, Mr. Macron pointed out that scientific research into the technology goes back decades, and argued the rapid development of vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic was something to be celebrated, not looked at suspiciously.

“That’s the reality of things and the truth,” he concluded.

Mr. Macron’s videos have already been seen millions of times, but it is unclear whether his influencing efforts will be enough to convince vaccine skeptics, many of whom are very distrustful of the French government and harbor intense animosity toward Mr. Macron himself and his top-down style of governing.

Some commenters on Mr. Macron’s videos asked questions about vaccines, others supported his efforts or even complimented his physical appearance, while detractors accused him of spouting propaganda and ignoring citizens’ concerns.

“The president’s T-shirt isn’t going to make him more approachable, younger or more convincing,” Julien Odoul, a spokesman for the far-right National Rally party, told Franceinfo on Tuesday.