President Emmanuel Macron will meet the chief executive of French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi on May 19, a presidential official said on Thursday, after Paul Hudson angered the government earlier by saying some countries would get priority access to a coronavirus vaccine.

Hudson tempered his original comments earlier on Thursday by saying it was vital that any coronavirus vaccine reach all parts of the world.

Earlier, The European Union (EU) insisted Thursday that any vaccine against coronavirus must be available fairly to all countries after French drug giant Sanofi said it was reserving first shipments for the U.S..

"The vaccine against COVID-19 should be a global public good and its access needs to be equitable and universal," European Commission spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker told reporters.

Sanofi's chief executive Paul Hudson caused fury in France by announcing that U.S. patients would get first access to a vaccine because Washington is helping to fund the research. 

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