Is there medical proof that side effects of vaccination were the cause of death, or is this merely supposition? Correlation does not imply causation.
Frankly, given the dire situation France finds itself in given the huge rise in the number of cases, more effort should be going into persuading the population to get vaccinated rather than frightening them. The French health system is in danger of being overwhelmed, hence a third national lockdown is likely and may be announced this evening.
It's not as simple as that Ed, despite what the British media say.
Vaccine scepticism is pretty high in France, a result of botched vaccination campaigns in the past and a general sense of natural-is-best. The main source of scare-stories and doubt are the newspapers, which tend to be more anti-government and anti-establishment than the British ones. The French government have been trying to spread the message that the vaccines are safe and that the only way out of this is mass vaccination but they know that propaganda and forcefulness will not work. They will just make more people suspicious which risks throwing the vaccination program into chaos. It is already hampered by a lack of supply (which I will stay away from because of the zero-tolerance rule) and the disparate nature of the French healthcare system, which is very good but disjointed. It has, however, managed to keep up with all the other health issues that people have, rather than putting them on the back-burner until the vaccination program is done.
We who understand statistics get that the risk of dying from a clot is hundreds of times lower than getting Covid. However, the personal choice is complicated. If you knew of someone who died shortly after taking the AZ vaccine but you don't know anyone who has died from Covid, that will overrule the stats. If you consider yourself young and healthy, or you think you have already had Covid, you might be willing to wait and see how the blood clot story pans out before rushing off for your jab.
What seems to be happening now in France, certainly with the AZ vaccine, is that doctors and pharmacists are giving jabs to those who go out of their way to demand one, rather than sticking to the age-priorities stated by the government because so many people are either not turning up or taking up the medics time being gently persuaded. Compared the the UK it looks a mess but its a mess caused by the media and the beliefs of people, not by Macron.
My mum who lives with us has had both her Pfizer jabs. I would guess that my wife and I will get ours (whatever brand) in the next 4 weeks. The lockdown is painful but in reality it is even now less confining that the restrictions in the UK 2 weeks ago.