The Senate, dominated by the right, discusses the bill to end the state of health emergency. (drawing) – Jacques Witt / SIPA
The bill framing the gradual exit from the state of health emergency, which notably allows the establishment of a controversial “health pass”, must be definitively adopted by Parliament, Thursday evening, with a final vote of the Senate . The text, on which deputies and senators agreed in a joint committee, was the subject of a final vote on Tuesday in the National Assembly.
It is a “point of balance between enthusiasm and prudence”, underlined in front of the deputies the Secretary of State to the Minister of Solidarity and Health Adrien Taquet, in a context of decline of the epidemic of Covid-19 and acceleration of vaccination. The transitional regime that it provides provides a legal framework for the deconfinement measures announced by the executive, without lowering our guard against the hypothesis of an epidemic resumption. It will end on September 30, and not the end of October as the executive wanted.
The deputies of the left (GDR, LFI, SOC) have already announced that they will seize the Constitutional Council, judging that this text “gives very important powers to the government on bases much too vague and imprecise”. The Modem deputies, who had tripped the majority at first reading by opposing its key points, voted the bill almost unanimously.
A supervised “health pass”
The text has been significantly altered after it passed through the hands of parliamentarians from the two assemblies. Deputies and senators in particular noted the limitation of the use of curfews and confinements within the framework of this transitional regime. The first remains possible and planned for the next 30 days from June 1. After this period, if the executive plans to use it again, it will then have to again declare a state of emergency for a period limited to 30 days before, possibly, returning to Parliament. Moreover, at the initiative of the Senate, the local reconfigurations provided for by law can only be decided for a maximum of one month without the Parliament being consulted.
On the sensitive aspect of the health pass, deputies and senators validated the contributions voted by the two chambers. Introduced by the government by amendment to the National Assembly, the “sanitary pass” will be limited to large gatherings, such as festivals, and subject to a series of measures limiting attacks on individual freedoms. It will also be limited in time, until September 30. The senators also obtained that it could be implemented only in places which do not make it possible to ensure compliance with barrier gestures. Only authorized persons may carry out checks.
Eighth text relating to the health emergency
The “health pass” will make access to major events, more than 1,000 people, according to the government’s promise, subject to the presentation of a negative result of screening for the virus, proof of vaccination, or even a certificate of recovery from contamination. The Secretary of State in charge of digital Cédric O greeted on Twitter “excellent news, which will make it possible to reopen our major events in complete safety”. He specified that the development allowing the storage of his vaccination certificate in the “TousAntiCovid” application (TousAntiCovidCarnet) will be ready for June 9.
The “sanitary pass” may also be imposed for travel between France and Corsica or overseas. Regarding overseas, the text also paves the way for a postponement no later than October, by a decree published by June 12, of the election scheduled in Guyana at the end of June. The bill, the eighth text relating to the health emergency, had been voted on at first reading by the vast majority of LR senators and centrists, as well as the RDPI groups with a majority En Marche and Indépendants. The Communist majority PS and CRCE groups voted against. The ecologists had abstained, the RDSE with a radical majority being divided.