The Senate dominated by the right-wing opposition voted on the night of Wednesday 12 to Thursday 13 January in first reading, after having significantly modified it, the bill strengthening the tools of management of the health crisis, which establishes the pass vaccine. The vote for the whole of the text was acquired by 249 votes for and 63 against, under the presidency of Gérard Larcher (The Republicans), at the end of two long days of peaceful debates, contrasting with the agitated climate which had surrounded its adoption. last week in the National Assembly.
Article 1 of the bill, that transforming the health pass into a vaccination pass, was voted by 242 votes in favor and 69 against. The senators made several changes that are not to the taste of the government, auguring a close discussion between deputies and senators in a joint committee on Thursday to find an agreement on the bill.
Thus, according to the text voted by the senators, the vaccination pass could only be imposed when the number of hospitalizations linked to Covid-19 would be greater than 10,000 patients nationally, and would automatically disappear below this threshold. The number of hospitalized patients is now nearly 24,000, according to figures from health authorities. Below the threshold of 10,000 hospitalized patients, the vaccination pass could only be maintained in the departments where the complete vaccination rate is less than 80% of the population or with a high incidence rate.
Joint committee this Thursday
Deputies and senators will meet Thursday, January 13 at the beginning of the afternoon at the Palais Bourbon, to try to agree on a common version of the text in a joint committee (CMP). In case of agreement, it will be submitted for final adoption to the vote of the Senate on Thursday and then of the Assembly on Friday. If the CMP fails, the bill will be re-read in both chambers, with the Assembly having the last word.
Once the bill has been adopted by Parliament, it will be necessary to be able to justify a 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.