COVID-19 and right-wing politicians, France and Britain

This 29 June 2020 video says about itself:

France ex-PM Fillon awaits verdict over corruption case

A verdict is expected in the corruption trial of former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

He faces up to five years in jail but says the scandal is a political smear campaign.

Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler reports from Paris.

UPDATE: today, Fillon was sentenced to five years imprisonment, of which three years are on probation. His wife got three years on probation.

Now, to Fillon’s equally right-wing successor, Edouard Philippe.

Why scientists say wearing masks shouldn’t be controversial. Cloth face coverings help curb the spread of the coronavirus, studies suggest.

#Municipales Edouard Philippe s'exprime devant son équipe. Il y a du monde, les gens sont proches
… je cherche un masque… aucun. Y a plus de #covid19 alors, tout du moins autour du 1er ministre au Havre ?? Ou alors ils sont tous immunisés ? Étonnant, déroutant… pic.twitter.com/jiuQcwNDwC

— Roofnai (@roofnai) June 28, 2020

This French tweet is about right-wing Prime Minister Edouard Philippe at an election meeting.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who helped shape the coronavirus policy, surrounded himself in a room with supporters, without anyone wearing a mask. Then he called for ‘a party’.

Across the country, there were busy meetings where people cheered and cheered and where local winners took off their masks in sweaty rooms in front of the cameras.

When President Macron cast his vote, he was closely surrounded by crowded people. Macron‘s party, however, lost a lot of votes in the municipal elections.

Also from NOS radio:

Johnson: Now no investigation into what went wrong

British Prime Minister Johnson does not yet think it is the time for an investigation into what went wrong with tackling the coronavirus. … In the United Kingdom, after the United States and Brazil, most people died from the effects of a Covid-19 infection.

Johnson, who was in intensive care with a coronavirus infection, called the outbreak a disaster and a nightmare. Last week, he was criticized by a group of leading health care experts. They warned in an open letter that the country is insufficiently prepared for a second wave of contamination.

The call came a day after Johnson announced that from Saturday, July 4, the British will be allowed to go to restaurants, pubs and hairdressers’ again. The distance measure is also relaxed from two to one meter.

THE ONE-METRE distancing rule is to be abandoned in schools when they open in September, the Tory government announced yesterday to the alarm of teachers, pupils and parents alike. Yet, if parents refuse to send their children back to school, because they feel it is unsafe to do so, they will be fined: here.