As of today, people in France need to show a health pass to enjoy routine activities such as going to a café or travelling on an intercity train, in a plan championed by President Emmanuel Macron to reduce Covid-19 infections and encourage vaccination.
The government extended an already-existing health pass to cafés, restaurants and intercity travel on Monday. A quarter of long-distance trains will be checked on Monday, Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari announced.
The health pass is generated in a QR code either by a full course of vaccinations, a recent negative virus test or proof of recovery from Covid-19.
Macron hopes the pass will help ramp up vaccinations and quell the fourth wave of the Covid epidemic in France in a strategy similar to that of Italy. The government is allowing a one-week grace period for consumers and businesses to get used to the new rules.
"The pass and the vaccination drive should help us avoid new curfews and lockdowns," Health Minister Olivier Véran told French daily Le Parisien.
The plan is being implemented despite four weekends of angry protests that saw close to a quarter of a million rally nationwide on Saturday. In response, Véran announced slight modifications to the rules on Sunday.
PCR or antigen tests can now be up to 72 hours old rather than 48, and self-tests are also valid provided they are carried out under medical supervision such as at pharmacies.
🔵 EXCLUSIF | Olivier Véran annonce des assouplissements sur le #PassSanitaire
— Le Parisien (@le_Parisien) August 7, 2021
• Pour les non-vaccinés, un test négatif sera valable 72h (et non 48h)
• Des autotests seront déployés pour éviter l’engorgement des centres de dépistagehttps://t.co/kqgnX3WmCn
'Enough is enough'
Véran emphasised however that there would be no going back on rules which will remain in place until at least 15 November.
He regretted the attention paid to those who are "anti-vax, anti-science and anti-state" over those who respected distancing and had been vaccinated.
"I am willing to hear the fears, do everything to reassure. But there comes a time when enough is enough," he said.
While Covid-related hospitalisations are far lower than at the height of the pandemic, there were 1,510 people in intensive care with Covid-19 on Saturday compared with 1,099 just one week ago.
Cases have been rising fastest in Corsica and the Mediterranean coast, which are seeing a summer influx of holidaymakers.
But the biggest concern is over France's overseas territories in the Indian Ocean and Caribbean, where new lockdowns have been ordered following a slow vaccine uptake.
Macron hopes the extension of the pass will further accelerate the vaccination drive in France where over 55 percent are now fully vaccinated.
But opponents argue the new rules encroach on civil liberties.
About 237,000 people protested across France on Saturday, including 17,000 in Paris, the interior ministry said.
Recent polls though have shown that a clear majority of the French back the pass, even including the extension to cafés and restaurants.
'Our freedom'
The pass has already been required since 21 July to visit cultural venues such as cinemas, theatres and museums. Its extension was approved by France's Constitutional Council on Thursday.
It will be needed both in the indoor and outdoor areas of restaurants and cafés, on intercity trains and non-emergency hospital appointments, but will not be required on metro systems and suburban transport.
Emmanuel Macron, who faces re-election next year, has recently taken to the social media platform TikTok, popular among young people, to get his message across.
"Get vaccinated. Get vaccinated. Get vaccinated," Macron said in the latest video Friday.
"It's a question of being a good citizen ... our freedom is worth nothing if we infect our friends, neighbours or grandparents. To be free is to be responsible."
(with AFP)
