Strangely calm atmosphere, shortly before the opening of the meeting, this Wednesday afternoon at the National Assembly. There is nothing to indicate that parliamentarians are examining, from 3 p.m., the controversial bill aimed at extending the health pass and providing for compulsory vaccination for caregivers. In the Salle des Quatre Colonnes, only the rebellious deputy Adrien Quatennens appeared before the journalists to furtively evoke a “pass that fractures society”.
At the opening of the debates, Olivier Véran defends the umpteenth time vaccination to fight against the fourth wave, specifying that 21,000 Covid-19 contaminations have been recorded in the last 24 hours. The Minister of Health mocks, in passing, the “distrust set up as a principle of life” and recalls that the majority of French people approve of the measures announced by Emmanuel Macron. “I would like to express my full support to this majority when there will be an uncle or an aunt at their table who will praise the merits of
ayurvedic medicine and dandelion soup to protect against viruses […]. Sheep are not what you think, ”he quipped, waking up the dotted rows of the hemicycle.
“The examination of the text promises to be deplorable”
In the process, the opposition raises the tone, denouncing the conditions for express examination of the text, while more than 1,100 amendments have been tabled. LFI deputy Ugo Bernalicis protests against the nightly debates of the day before, in committee, which resulted in a vote at dawn. “We don’t work the same when we discuss a text between 3 am and 6 am or when we do it at normal times. It is scheduled to end tonight at midnight, it’s impossible! “Same tone for the socialist deputy Lamia El Aaraje:” Twelve hours of debates to register restrictions on freedom never seen in the memory of a constitutionalist, I am outraged. You despise the role of Parliament! “
“It’s true that we worked in difficult circumstances, quickly. But take your time, the virus will not wait! », Replies Jean-Pierre Pont, the LREM rapporteur for the bill. “We are starting a race against the clock against a virus that is spreading,” continues Yaël Braun-Pivet, LREM president of the law committee. “Yes, we have to move quickly, but that does not exclude quality parliamentary work. “
Haro on the health pass
The mood becomes a little more electric when we consider article 1. In the opposition, many denounce the generalization of the health pass or its modalities. “This authoritarian pass testifies to your failure. Rather than targeting vaccination on those most at risk, you are restricting freedoms and you are tearing the nation apart, ”the rebellious François Ruffin lashed out. “Faced with this wave, the only real answer is vaccination. We are for compulsory vaccination because it includes, but against the health pass because it excludes, ”advocates Valérie Rabault, president of the PS group.
The right prefers to point out “unacceptable inconsistencies” on the health pass. “How can we explain that it will not be imposed in large shopping centers but in small outdoor events in our villages? How to explain that a wedding in a private setting will not result in a health pass, but will be in the restaurant, even with fewer guests? “, Is astonished the deputy LR Fabien Di Filippo.
“It’s either sanitary pass or re-containment”
It is the Secretary of State for Digital, Cédric O, who responds to the opposition in a few seconds. “The short-term situation is binary: it’s either a health pass or a curfew. Either health pass or closure of bars and restaurants. Either sanitary pass or reconfinement. The rest is literature ”. Aurélien Pradié is annoyed: “You are perhaps a binary man, except that democracy and parliamentary debate are not a binary affair. This response is unworthy of a government representative ”, plague the deputy and secretary general LR, recalling that, in the Pyrénées-Orientales,
a curfew would already be reinstated.
Despite the fears of the opposition, the debates should be carried out at full speed until the end of the night. Outside the National Assembly, a group of demonstrators meets during the discussions, as if to remind people that opposition to the health pass has only just begun.