Yesterday, the French Constitutional Council, the country’s highest court, validated most of the controversial new law aimed at curbing the spread of Covid.
Starting Monday, customers at bars, cafes and restaurants will have to show their ‘Pass Sanitiare’ (Health Pass) or proof of a recent negative Covid test before being served, inside or outside. The vax pass will also be required at shopping centers, department stores, movies, theaters, concert halls, stadiums, amusement parks and other public venues. Passengers travelling on trains, buses and planes will also be required to show their pass.
From France 24’s English-language channel:
The court also validated mandatory vaccination for all caregivers, a labor category that includes health care workers and firefighters.
However, a provision that would have allowed employers to fire unvaccinated employees was struck down on a technicality, since it would have applied only to temporary workers and the court decided it would be discriminatory, since it didn’t apply to permanent workers, as well.
The firefighters unions fought hard against giving employers a right to fire unvaccinated workers and they may see this part of the court’s decision as a victory for them, but they lost on another front. The court validated the provisions that allow employers to suspend unvaccinated workers without pay.
The court also rejected a provision that called for mandatory isolation of individuals who test positive for Covid, reasoning that a one-size-fits-all requirement isn’t an appropriate solution.
In additional noteworthy comments, the court acknowledged that the ‘Health Pass’ curtails individual liberties, such as the freedom to come and go as one pleases, but that the public health emergency has precedence over concerns about that.
Since the new rules were originally announced by Emmanuel Macron on July 12, protesters have taken to the streets in cities throughout France. On each successive Saturday, the demonstrations have only grown larger, and more are being planned for this weekend.