Former French Presidential Candidate Says COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Almost Killed Me’

Former French presidential candidate Jean Lassalle. NTD Television

A former French presidential candidate claimed this weekend that he underwent several operations and nearly died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Jean Lassalle told NTD Television, a sister media of The Epoch Times, that he underwent four operations since January 2022 and blamed the COVID-19 vaccine, saying it nearly killed him after it “distorted his heart.” Lassalle represented the fourth constituency of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques department in the National Assembly for several decades before he ran for president.

“I got the ... vaccine that almost killed me, that distorted my heart,“ he said. ”I have had four surgeries since Jan. 3 of this year.”

If he did not receive those operations, Lassalle said that “I would certainly be dead,” according to a French-to-English translation.

When asked why he took the COVID-19 shot, he said that he was a member of Parliament and “didn’t want to give the feeling that I wasn’t doing my job” before alleging that French President Emmanuel Macron “was not vaccinated.” He did not elaborate.

“I wanted to set an example,” Lassalle said. “This was the time when Mr. Macron, [UK Prime Minister] Boris Johnson, and others ... encouraged everyone to get vaccinated.”

During the first round of the French presidential election, Lassalle got about 3 percent of the vote.

Vaccine Passports

Last year, France set up a COVID-19 vaccine passport system, dubbed a health pass by the government, to enter restaurants, clubs, and a number of other public places. Those passports drew widespread protests across the country for weeks.

At one point, Macron told Le Parisian that he wanted to make life difficult for unvaccinated people.

“I really want to piss them off. And so we will continue to do so, to the bitter end. That’s the strategy,” he said in a comment that drew protests in Paris and elsewhere.

Rules that mandated people to show a COVID-19 vaccine passport to access venues were lifted in March, it was announced. The COVID-19 certificate that was issued to people who tested negative or who have been fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines recognized by the government was lifted in August.

“Travellers no longer have any formalities to complete before arriving into mainland or overseas France, and the COVID certificate can no longer be required, irrespective of the country or area of origin,” says a French government website.

Both Denmark and Sweden, which, like France, are European Union members, moved to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for younger people.

The Swedish Public Health Authority will stop recommending that healthy children between the ages of 12 and 17 receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In nearby Denmark, authorities issued a similar rule change and won’t offer people younger than age 50 more COVID-19 vaccine boosters.