“The solid majority which will vote it will be vigilant on a certain number of conditions, in particular the defense of freedoms, the limitation in time and the always control of the Parliament”, had warned the president of the Senate (LR) Gérard Larcher on Tuesday morning on France Inter.
After the heated debates in the National Assembly after the controversial remarks of Emmanuel Macron, the examination of the bill until today establishing the vaccination pass began in the Senate in a much more studious atmosphere. The bill “remains entirely guided by the search for a difficult balance, with the primary concern of protecting the French while ensuring the continuity of the life of the Nation”, pleaded Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health.
Basically, the right-wing majority senators should adopt the vaccination pass which will require being 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.
Yesterday afternoon, the Senate rejected a motion to reject the text presented by the centrist Loïc Hervé, a fervent opponent of the vaccination pass as well as the health pass. Then a series of amendments aimed at the deletion of the flagship article relating to the pass, carried by the CRCE groups with a communist and environmentalist majority, but also a handful of elected LR and Senator RN Stéphane Ravier.
No identity check for bar owners
However, the elected representatives of the Palais du Luxembourg made their differences and criticisms heard by modifying the text adopted in the Assembly. Many speakers have estimated, like the rapporteur LR Philippe Bas that the vaccination pass “as useful as it may be, does not respond to the current health emergency and” disorder at school, in the workplace and especially in the hospital, for which the government has not prepared the country ”.
At the very end of the evening, the High Assembly removed the possibility, for the owners of bars, cafes and restaurants, to verify the identity of the holders of the pass. This controversial measure had however been maintained in committee, on “lighter terms”.
No vaccination pass before 18 years old
Against the advice of the government, the senators also planned to limit the possibility of requiring the presentation of a vaccination pass to people over 18 years of age. Minors aged 12 to 17 would remain subject to the obligation to present a health pass.
Automatic shutdown according to the epidemic situation
Another major change, which the government does not wish to see enshrined in law: Philippe Bas has provided for an “automatic extinction” mechanism for the vaccination pass. Thus, it could only be imposed when the number of hospitalizations linked to Covid-19 exceeds 10,000 patients nationally, and would automatically disappear below this threshold.
Hospitals now have more than 25,000 Covid patients, according to figures from health authorities. Also in the sights of senators, the sanction system for employers who do not respect the provisions relating to teleworking.
Gauges reviewed in stadiums
Despite the unfavorable opinion of the government and the committee, an amendment carried by the centrist group and supported by the left of the Senate revises the gauges set at 5,000 people in stadiums and 2,000 in theaters, taking into account the reception capacities of the places, as explained Public Senate. The centrist senator from Tarn-et-Garonne, Pierre-Antoine Levi, proposed to reverse the amendment adopted on January 3, limiting the capacity to accommodate in stadiums and theaters to 5,000 people: “This means that at the Parc des Princes, it is possible to accommodate 5,000 spectators with a capacity of 50,000 seats. At the same time, a stadium of 5000 people will be able to refuel ”, explained the senator.
Its amendment therefore proposes to take into account the reception capacity of places “by setting up an additional 50% gauge beyond the deductible announced by the government”. If we take a 10,000-seat stadium, that gives a tonnage of 5,000 added to 50% of 5,000, or a capacity of 7,500 people, is it taken as an example in the reasons for its amendment? .
The Senate will continue its work this Wednesday with the examination of more than a hundred amendments, including nearly fifty on article 1, recording the transformation of the health pass into a vaccine pass. Once the bill has been passed by the Senate, deputies and senators will meet in a joint committee to try to find an agreement on a common version. Possibly from Thursday, according to a parliamentary source.
In case of failure, a new reading will be organized in both chambers. The Assembly would have the last word, but the mid-January horizon desired by the government for implementation might be difficult to meet, especially in the event of an appeal to the Constitutional Council.