At the end of three days of tumultuous debates – including two shortened nights – fueled by controversial remarks by Emmanuel Macron, ready to “Piss off” unvaccinated, the deputies adopted, Thursday, January 6 in the morning, the bill strengthening the tools of management of the health crisis.
Announced in mid-December 2021 by the executive in the face of the rampant Covid-19 epidemic, the text, which turns the health pass into a vaccination pass, received 214 votes for, 93 against, and 27 abstentions. It must now be examined by the Senate at the beginning of next week, for an entry into force that the government wanted on January 15 but which should be postponed by a few days.
Those over 12 will then need to be able to prove their vaccination status to access leisure activities, restaurants and bars, fairs or interregional public transport. A negative test will no longer suffice, except for access to health establishments and services.
Among their retouching amendments, the deputies postponed from 12 to 16 years the need for a vaccination pass for school trips and peri and extracurricular activities. The last night of discussions progressed chuggingly, with some outbursts of voice over the sanitary pass in meetings or the situation overseas.
Questions about identity checks
The heading of article 1is (out of 3) was not crossed until 3 a.m. “We are tired, deputies must return to the constituency”, released an elected official in the corridors, while the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, said he was ready to “Chain” the session with morning meetings.
Until the end of the night, the parliamentarians exchanged on the merits, the oppositions targeting in particular the identity checks that can operate cafetiers or restaurateurs in the event of “Serious reasons” to think that there is fraud in the vaccination pass. Martine Wonner, muse of covidosceptics, said she was afraid “A denouncing society”.
The Republicans (LR) deputies, who were finally divided on the overall vote on the bill (28 for, 24 against, 22 abstentions), announced that they would seize the Constitutional Council on this point of checks.
Prime Minister Jean Castex himself came on Wednesday afternoon to ask parliamentarians to speed up, after the blockage, or even, according to La France insoumise (LFI), the “Crisis”, provoked by the words of Emmanuel Macron.
“The unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And so we will continue to do so, until the end. That’s the strategy “, proclaimed the Head of State in an interview with Parisian mardi. “When my freedom threatens the freedom of others, I become irresponsible. An irresponsible person is no longer a citizen ”, he added.
Summoned to explain himself, Jean Castex first confirmed before the Senate his desire to put pressure on the unvaccinated. “Who is insulting the nation? (…) Who leads caregivers in our emergencies to make dramatic ethical choices? Well, it’s a tiny minority ”, he argued. Then, at the Palais-Bourbon, the Prime Minister urged the deputies to “To debate quickly”, taking into account the health situation.
More than 330,000 positive cases on Wednesday
“Excuse yourself” from “Unworthy words” of the president, had told him the patroness of the rebels in the Assembly, Mathilde Panot. Leader of LR deputies, Damien Abad had criticized a “Cold and calculating populism” from the Head of State.
LR presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse accused Emmanuel Macron of doing “Diversion with his sentences”, in an interview with Provence.
About 53% of French people said they had been “Shocked” by the words of Emmanuel Macron, and 47% “Not shocked”, according to an Elabe poll released Wednesday night.
MP and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said the executive wanted “Condemn to social death” the unvaccinated, while the sovereignist candidate Nicolas Dupont-Aignan spoke out against measures “Most liberticidal”.
Jean Castex will again have the opportunity to speak, Thursday at 8:30 am on RMC and BFM-TV, while the epidemic is on the rise. Some 332,252 new Covid-19 contaminations were recorded on Wednesday, a new record, while the number of hospitalized patients continued to increase, especially in critical care services.
In addition, 66,000 people received a first dose of the vaccine on Wednesday, a record since 1is October 2021 according to Olivier Véran, who seemed to make the link with the pressure exerted by the executive. Some “5% of hospitalized patients” have false passes, also indicated the minister. The bill increases penalties for fraud.
In the Council of Ministers, a state of health emergency was also declared in several French overseas territories (Guadeloupe, Guyana, Mayotte, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélémy) due to the“Considerable increase” of cases.
- Italy introduces compulsory vaccination for those over 50 years old. Faced with sharply rising SARS-CoV-2 contaminations, the Italian government decided, Wednesday, January 5, to introduce compulsory vaccination for all people over the age of 50. “We want to slow down the contaminations curve and encourage Italians who have not yet been vaccinated to do so, justified, during the council of ministers having adopted this measure, the president of the council, Mario Draghi, quoted in a press release of the government. We work in particular on the age groups that are most at risk of being hospitalized to reduce pressure on hospitals and save lives. “