More than a third of the 350 shopping centers of more than 20,000 square meters could be affected by the obligation of health pass, AFP calculated Thursday based on the criteria announced by the government the day before and on the current state of the Covid-19 epidemic.
The government asked the prefects on Wednesday to make the health pass compulsory in shopping centers of more than 20,000 m2 located in the departments where the incidence rate exceeds 200 per 100,000 inhabitants over a week.
129 shopping centers in 38 departments
The official list has not yet been published, but the measure could thus be potentially applicable to 129 shopping centers distributed in the 38 departments of metropolitan France and Overseas with a high incidence rate, according to a calculation drawn from the list of centers of more than 20,000 m2 communicated Thursday to AFP by the National Council of Shopping Centers (CNCC).
This list does not include department stores, which may also be affected if they are more than 20,000 m2 and are located in high-impact areas.
In mainland France, these departments – including Hérault, Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Garonne, Gironde, or Rhône – are mainly located in the southern half of the country and will also have to make wearing a mask compulsory indoors. in places open to the public, the government said.
In the Overseas Territories, the government has also imposed strict confinements in Guadeloupe and Martinique, while Réunion has been subject to partial confinement since July 31.
The question of access to essential goods and means of transport
The actual number of centers and stores affected by the health pass will depend on the decisions of the prefects. According to the law validated last week by the Constitutional Council, they will not be able to make the pass compulsory in supermarkets if it compromises “people’s access to essential goods and services as well as to means of transport”.
Some large shopping centers next to transport stations, such as the gigantic La Part Dieu center in Lyon (161,000 m2), one of the largest in Europe, were preparing for the unknown.
“We are very surprised by the government announcements. We are awaiting the various prefectural decrees which will vary according to the incidence thresholds (and) the characteristics specific to each center ”indicated its director Jean-Philippe Pelou Daniel.
Only Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne concerned in Ile-de-France
In the Paris region, only Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne have incidence rates above 200; these two departments have around twenty large shopping centers including the gigantic Belle Epine (Thiais) and Rosny 2.
“In practical terms, it is not easy to put in place. This will create queues with a possible health risk, a short-term economic cost by recruiting additional security agents, and a drop in attendance, ”lamented CNCC General Delegate Gontran Thüring to AFP.
Mr. Thüring estimated at 30,000 euros per month and “per front door” of each center, the additional expenses related to the verification of the health pass.
According to Grégory Lebacle, director of security for a company providing services to the Roques-sur-Garonne shopping center near Toulouse, the recruitment of “qualified” security guards, in the middle of summer, within a “short” timeframe will be “a real challenge. brain teaser”.
The health pass was only applied so far in a few shopping centers and supermarkets in Vaucluse, the Pyrénées Orientales and Loire-Atlantique – where the measure was finally lifted on Thursday, due to an incidence rate less than 200.