France approves by law the ‘vaccination pass’ o COVID-19 passport that will force citizens to have the complete vaccination schedule for access certain public spaces. In this way, the social life of those who do not want to be vaccinated against the disease will be restricted, in an attempt to encourage vaccination among the almost five million people who reject it.
With 215 votes in favor, 58 against and seven abstentions, the National Assembly has concluded an intense parliamentary process with the Senate, which has been immersed in a political storm after the president Emmanuel Macron said that wanted to “annoy” or “fuck” the unvaccinated.
The law replaces the previous health passport (which, in addition to vaccines, accepted a negative test carried out in the previous hours) by one based exclusively on the immunization with three doses or two more certified having gone through the disease.
With the omicron variant causing more than 300,000 cases daily and the vast majority of seriously ill COVID-19 patients being unvaccinated, the Government wants the law goes into effect this week in order to help contain the current epidemic wave.
“With the vaccine passport, France is equipped with a new tool to protect its citizens,” said the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, after the vote, who has not been able to participate in the debates of recent days after announcing his positive by coronavirus last Thursday.
However, the socialist deputies announced that they will present an appeal to the Constitutional Council to “guarantee fundamental freedoms”, which may delay the start of the application of the new measure by several days.
What is it mandatory to be vaccinated for?
With this new law, only those who have a complete vaccination schedule with three doses, two doses with a certification of curing the disease in the last six months, or have a medical exemption from the vaccine, will be able to enter cultural places such as cinemas, theaters or museums.
The same will happen with the entry into the large shopping malls, cafes, bars, restaurants or sports halls, as well as access to medium and long distance public transport.
In addition, the penalties are also increased for those who are caught with a false vaccine passport, who may be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros for those who have several falsified documents. However, an “amnesty” is provided if the person caught is vaccinated within thirty days.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
