The French Senate approved, in the early hours of this Thursday, the law establishing the vaccination passport, which requires citizens to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to have access to most public places, including bars and restaurants.
After two days of debate, the proposal was approved around 2:30 am on Thursday by 249 votes to 63, with 26 abstentions.
Formed by a majority of the conservative opposition, the Senate made some changes to the text that was approved by the deputies in the National Assembly, with a ruling majority, last week.
Members of the Senate and the National Assembly will meet this afternoon to reach an agreement on the final version of the text. If an agreement is reached, the bill will be put to a final vote in both chambers by the end of this week.
With the passage of the law, residents in France will have to prove that they have received all doses of a vaccine against the coronavirus to enter bars, restaurants, cafes, tourist sites, gyms, long-distance trains, among other establishments. The health passport in force in the country currently allows unvaccinated people to present a negative test for Covid-19 to access these places, which will no longer be accepted.
From Saturday, France will have a new rule for the sanitary pass system. To keep the certificate valid, those over 18 must have received a booster dose within seven months of completing the Covid vaccination schedule. This rule is already in effect for people aged 60 and over.
The certificate is also valid for anyone who has recently recovered from the infection.
Senators have introduced some limitations to the legislation. The Senate text provides that the vaccine passport can only be imposed if the number of hospitalizations is greater than 10,000 across the country. Below that figure, the passport would automatically be suspended.
Currently, France has about 24,000 hospitalizations for Covid-19, according to health authorities cited by the international press.
In addition, the text adopted by the Senate excludes those under 18 from the vaccination passport. Senators also did not approve the application of sanctions for business owners who refuse remote work, which was in the text approved by deputies for the law that also provides for other measures to combat the pandemic.
Debates in the Senate on the stricter vaccination passport went smoothly, while the discussion in the Assembly came to a halt after President Emmanuel Macron used a crude term to say that he intends to “annoy” the unvaccinated with restrictive measures until they decide. get immunized.
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