On Europe 1, Philippe Laurent, secretary general of the Association of Mayors of France, welcomes the government's desire to speed up the pace of vaccinations against the coronavirus.

But, he adds, "we have the capacity to go much faster" by involving local elected officials in the organization. 

INTERVIEW

Under fire from critics because of a very slow start to its coronavirus vaccination campaign, the government is trying to put an end to the controversy and promises to step up the pace.

On Monday, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran assured that "by Tuesday evening and Wednesday", "there will be a hundred hospitals which will offer vaccination to their caregivers as well as to city carers", and promised a rise in the coming days.

At the microphone of Europe 1, Philippe Laurent, secretary general of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), welcomes this change of tone, but believes that we can go "much faster", by associating local elected officials with the 'organization. 

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"The speech of the minister today is quite different from that of a week ago, we must be delighted," reacts the local elected.

Olivier Véran, he continues, "heard what the elected officials and a certain number of professionals were saying".

On December 29, 200 mayors signed a text published in

Le Figaro

, in which they pledged to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to set an example and asked the State to "facilitate this initiative". 

"We took a step forward"

But, adds Philippe Laurent, "we have the capacity to go much faster if we mobilize all the logistical means available to the municipalities".

However, recalls the mayor of Sceaux, local elected officials have been calling for speed for several weeks.

"We had proposed this approach in November, it was repeated in December. This morning, the AMF published a new press release to indicate the availability of mayors to get involved in this organization." 

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"I think we have taken a step forward with the minister's recent statements," concludes Philippe Laurent.