The French Parliament approved on Thursday (6) the plans of President Emmanuel Macron for a vaccination passport to contain the spread of the Ômicron variant of the coronavirus, after a tumultuous debate provoked by the comments of Macron himself, who stated that he wanted to “irritate” the unvaccinated.
Macron’s language nearly three months before the presidential election was widely seen as politically calculated, appealing to the public’s growing frustration against those who did not want to get vaccinated.
More than 90% of the population over 12 years old received at least two doses of an immunizing agent against Covid-19, according to government data. Health Minister Olivier Véran said a record number of people since Oct. 1 received the first dose of the vaccine on Wednesday after Macron’s comments were published.
Parliamentarians in the House approved the bill that includes the vaccine passport shortly after 5:00 am (local time), after a session that turned into the night, by 214 votes to 93. Many of those who voted against the bill were from far-right groups or from the left.
The bill will go to the Senate before a final vote in the National Assembly.
The French have for months needed to show they are vaccinated or tested negative for Covid-19 so they can enter places like cinemas, cafes and trains. But with the spike in infections with the Delta and Ômicron variants, the government decided to invalidate the option of presenting negative tests in the new project.
Vaccination passport rules will apply to people over 16 and not over 12, as the government initially wanted.
European countries have been hesitant about whether or not to coerce their citizens into vaccination. On Wednesday, Italy made vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory for people over 50, with teachers and health professionals already obliged to take the immunizing agent.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex said countries that adopt mandatory vaccinations, such as Italy and Austria, have lower vaccination rates than France.
Castex also said France is ready to follow the program towards a fourth dose against Covid when the time is right.
On Wednesday, France recorded more than 332,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, and 246 more died from the disease in hospitals.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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