First modification:
Most of the bill promoted by President Emmanuel Macron, which requires a vaccination pass against Covid-19 to be able to access public places, was supported on January 21 by the Constitutional Council. However, it will not be a requirement to enter political rallies. The initiative thus passes the last stage of its ratification after being approved last Sunday in Parliament.
France finishes paving the way so that the requirement of the vaccination pass begins to govern from next January 24.
The Constitutional Council approved the certificate that will require those over 16 years of age to have the complete immunization schedule against Covid-19, including booster vaccines, to enter public places such as bars, restaurants and cinemas.
In this way, one of the most controversial orders of the bill was endorsed: the authorization of bar and restaurant administrators to verify the identification of a person together with the inoculation document, in order to stop counterfeits or certificates belonging to a third party. .
However, the agency rejected that the vaccination pass must be presented by those who participate in political rallies as proposed by the bill, and less than three months before the presidential elections.
According to the Council, such a provision would affect the freedom of citizens to share views and opinions.
The new certificate will replace the current health passport, so a virus detection test or proof of having been recently infected will no longer be accepted.
Increased pressure for those who oppose vaccines
The new measure is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s push to make life difficult enough for the minority of his country’s population that refuses drugs.
At the beginning of January, the French president attacked the anti-vaccine calls and with a sarcastic comment indicated that he intended to “annoy” those who have not applied the injections against the new coronavirus.
The vaccination pass led to greater protests against the restrictions related to curbing the pandemic, but the project continued its progress in the Legislative at a time when the Government is determined to mitigate the infections that have set new records in its country.
Amid the spread of the Omicron variant, much more transmissible than others such as Delta, France reported more than 425,000 new positive diagnoses on January 21.
Health authorities assure that the vast majority of patients with Covid-19 in intensive care are people who have not been vaccinated.
With Reuters and EFE
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