PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron joined the Biden administration, saying that he supports the sharing of valuable technology behind COVID-19 vaccines. But Macron also insisted that the first priority for the richest countries should be to over-dose the poorest countries.

During a visit to an immunization center on Thursday, the French leader said he “fully” supported the opening of intellectual property protection for COVID-19 vaccines. Macron stated that “clearly we have to make this vaccine a global public”.

But he also argued that with patent waivers, pharmaceutical companies in countries such as Africa are not currently equipped to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines and that dose donation should be preferred instead.

Macron said the European Union is leading the way on vaccine donations and has called on the United States and Britain to share more.

He said that “Europe is the continent’s most generous to the rest of the world”, exported 45 million doses, and hoped that “the British, Americans and others would follow suit”.

He said that, “In the short term, this is what will allow us to be vaccinated”.