Bars, restaurants, cinemas, hospitals, transport: Health passes entered the daily life of the French on Monday, first for a week, despite street protests, to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Restaurants found by AFP underline their fear of losing their customers and their apprehension of dealing with stressful situations, such as David Forton, manager of the “Sante Croix” cafe in Bordeaux, who considers the past “a plague”.
The government has assured that there will be tolerance in these first days of application of the tool, which is perceived as a “stimulus for vaccination” and “preservation of freedom”, in the words of the Minister of Transport Jean-Baptiste Jebbari, with the aim Being able to escape the new curfew and confinement in this way.
Already in several European countries and in France from 21 July in places of culture, the health pass takes the form of a QR code to be presented in restaurants and cafes, at the cinema, at the museum, at the theatre. long distance transportation.
It may also be required by prefectural decision in shops over 20,000 m2, but not at the general practitioner. On the other hand, it would be in hospitals, unless it is “an obstacle to useful and urgent care”, Health Minister Olivier Veran underlined.
A valid health pass testifies to a complete immunization schedule, at least 11 days and less than six months of recovery from disease through a positive test certificate, or a negative test of “less than 72 hours”.
Wearing a mask will no longer be mandatory where it is applicable.
– Checking of a quarter of trains –
Passengers on a quarter of the trains would be checked on Monday, promised Jean-Baptiste Jebbari, a “massive” but “not systematic” check.
Beware of fraudsters. A person using a relative’s pass will be fined 750 euros (fixed at 135 euros if it is paid early), an amount which can be up to 1,500 euros in the event of a repeat offense within 15 days Will increase
The police, in uniform and civilian clothing, shall control establishments whose access is subject to the presentation of a pass, targeted in priority urban and tourist areas.
A professional who does not enforce the required controls will face a fine of up to 9,000 euros and one year in prison if this violation is found “more than three times during a period of 45 days”.
The introduction of the health pass is disputed on the street: about 237,000 people marched peacefully on Saturday for the fourth consecutive weekend, according to interior ministry data.
Former FN Florian Philipot, chairman of the Frexit Les Patriots party, who has made the fight against the executive’s health strategy his hobby, called for mobilization to “intensify”, while the national rally called on the government to “abandon this disproportionate”. urged. Remedy”, “freedom and discriminatory”.
Condoling his share of “generalized control and tracing”, LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon noted his “great sense of restlessness” in a tweet on Monday.
Meanwhile, a woman who waved anti-Semitic signs in Metz on Saturday during a demonstration against a health pass was arrested in Homburg-Haut (Moselle) on Monday, a police source said. As a teacher, she “will be suspended for disciplinary action,” said national education minister Jean-Michel Blancar.
– Health Defense Council –
The executive, confident that the target of 50 million first-time vaccines will be met by the end of August, confirms that Emmanuel Macron’s speech on July 12 fueled the campaign, which saw more than 6.8 million appointments for the first time. since injection. The head of state, answering questions from the French on vaccination, broadcast twelve videos on the social network in early August that have garnered more than 60 million views.
On Wednesday, he will chair a healthcare council by videoconference, where it will be a question of the third dose of the vaccine, especially for the most vulnerable at the start of the school year.
According to Public Health France, 44,739,322 people have received at least one injection (ie 66.4% of the total population) and 37,231,075 now have a full immunization program (55.2%).
But in the face of a dire situation in Guadeloupe and Martinique, where the saturation of hospitals has prompted the government to send reinforcements, Foreign Minister Sebastian Lecorn will be there from Tuesday.
The number of hospitalized patients continues to rise across France: on Sunday they were around 8,700 (+25% in three weeks), including 1,556 in critical care services (+81%).