France health passport rules could extend into summer 2022
Covid-19 health pass rules in France could remain in force until next summer, government spokesman Gabriel Attal has said.
Health pass rules in France were initially brought in until November 15th, but with the option to be extended if parliament agreed.
But the government now plans to extend the State of Heath Emergency which allows such measures to be used ‘until next summer’.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the pass will remain in use until then, and suggestions have already been brought forward on scrapping its use in areas with low case numbers.
The health pass was brought in early in summer 2021 to allow cultural, sporting and leisure venues to reopen safely while the vaccination programme was in full swing. President Macron's announcement on July 12th, in which he announced a tightening of the rules, prompted millions of French people to book vaccine appointments.
Speaking after the weekly Conseil des ministres meeting and a day before health pass rules were due to be extended to include 12 to 17-year-olds, Attal said: "What we want and are going to propose to Parliament is to maintain the possibility of using it [the health pass] for several months, until the summer."
He confirmed that Covid-19 is currently in retreat across the country and said, "We are right to be optimistic, but warned: "The past 18 months have shown us that we must always remain cautious and vigilant."
Attal said that the government hoped it would not have to resort to keeping health pass rules in place for so long under state of emergency legislation, but added: “We must give ourselves the means, for several more months, to have the opportunity to use measures to protect the French [people].”
READ ALSO What does a State of Health Emergency mean in France?
Meanwhile, an experiment testing the risk of transmission of Covid-19 in nightclubs will take place on October 17th, it has been announced.
The experiment will take place at two nightclubs in Paris to test the infection risk among ‘fully vaccinated people … in a closed space at full capacity and without a mask’.
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Health pass rules in France were initially brought in until November 15th, but with the option to be extended if parliament agreed.
But the government now plans to extend the State of Heath Emergency which allows such measures to be used ‘until next summer’.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the pass will remain in use until then, and suggestions have already been brought forward on scrapping its use in areas with low case numbers.
The health pass was brought in early in summer 2021 to allow cultural, sporting and leisure venues to reopen safely while the vaccination programme was in full swing. President Macron's announcement on July 12th, in which he announced a tightening of the rules, prompted millions of French people to book vaccine appointments.
Speaking after the weekly Conseil des ministres meeting and a day before health pass rules were due to be extended to include 12 to 17-year-olds, Attal said: "What we want and are going to propose to Parliament is to maintain the possibility of using it [the health pass] for several months, until the summer."
He confirmed that Covid-19 is currently in retreat across the country and said, "We are right to be optimistic, but warned: "The past 18 months have shown us that we must always remain cautious and vigilant."
Attal said that the government hoped it would not have to resort to keeping health pass rules in place for so long under state of emergency legislation, but added: “We must give ourselves the means, for several more months, to have the opportunity to use measures to protect the French [people].”
READ ALSO What does a State of Health Emergency mean in France?
Meanwhile, an experiment testing the risk of transmission of Covid-19 in nightclubs will take place on October 17th, it has been announced.
The experiment will take place at two nightclubs in Paris to test the infection risk among ‘fully vaccinated people … in a closed space at full capacity and without a mask’.
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