France gives the green light to the bill that imposes the vaccination pass

First modification: 01/06/2022 – 19:10

The mandatory vaccination pass will be a reality in France. This was decided by the French National Assembly on January 6, in tune with President Emmanuel Macron’s strategy to stop the Covid-19 contagion curve.

After three days and three nights of heated debate, this Thursday the members of the Lower House approved, with 214 votes in favor, 93 against and 27 abstentions, the text of the future law.

“It is the right thing, not only for the Government, but for the country, the French and the fight against the pandemic,” said Jean Castex, the country’s prime minister, hours later in an interview with the ‘BFM TV’ chain.

It was the politician who had to calm the spirits in the National Assembly and who also accused the Republicans of “irresponsible” for not accepting the imposition of the vaccination pass in the first instance.

With the tremendous increase in Covid-19 cases in France, caused by the spread of the Omicron variant, the French government has taken a much tougher line on skeptics, who refuse to receive the vaccine.

“Yes, we will continue to pressure the unvaccinated and it is something that we assume,” added the politician during his speech on ‘BFM TV’.

A pressure strategy that seems to be paying off. In France, more than 77% of the total population and more than 90% of those over 12 years of age have received at least two doses, according to the Executive’s data.

From the Government they hope that the law will come into force as soon as next January 15. Now, the legislation will go through the Senate next week and, after that, it must once again receive the ratification of the National Assembly in the last stay.

President Macron’s anger with the unvaccinated

Earlier this week, President Emmanuel Macron used a tone with the unvaccinated that he had not used so far. It was during a interview with the newspaper ‘Le Parisien’, in which he assured that he planned to remove from public spaces those who reject the Covid-19 vaccine.

“To the unvaccinated, I want to really annoy them,” Macron said, while explaining that the new, reinforced health pass would make it impossible for the unvaccinated to enter restaurants, cafes, theaters or cinemas.

For several months, French citizens have to present their vaccination card or a negative Covid-19 test to enter places such as cinemas and cafes and use the trains. But, given the increase in infections, the Government decided to go one step further and eliminate the option of testing in the new bill.

The new law will also allow tougher penalties for those who use false certificates with fines from 1,000 euros and even prison.

However, the president said that he would not “put the anti-vaccines in jail”, nor would he “vaccinate them by force”, but made it clear that he wants to make life more difficult for them.

After these harsh statements, the Government assured that a record number of people since October received the first dose on January 5. And it is that, three months before the elections in France, the reluctance of the unvaccinated is threatening to sink the management of the pandemic by Emmanuel Macron’s cabinet.

For what experts think that Macron is using as an electoral strategy the “anger” against the deniers. Something that many French already feel, the anger of the majority – which would be the electoral public that Macron is pursuing – against a minority that still refuses to be vaccinated and that, in addition, occupies a disproportionate number of beds in the country’s ICUs.

Something that he plans to fight with the new bill, but that also has detractors. In fact, critics of the Executive say that the new measure is discriminatory for the “unvaccinated”, despite being a public health issue.

“Macron above all has a mentality of polarization of French society, he does not have a mentality of unity (…) Today, we should not speak of the French simply based on whether they are vaccinated or not: we are all French, we have the same rights and the same duties, “said Rodolphe Bacquet, author of an anti-vaccine petition with more than 1.2 million signatures in France.

Several countries on the continent have been debating on the imposition of the obligatory nature of the health pass due to the rebound in cases. This Thursday, Italy imposed vaccination for those over 50 years of age.

With Reuters and local media