After two weeks of frantic parliamentary debates, Parliament finally adopted a vaccine bill this Sunday at the end of the afternoon. After Senators and Representatives failed to find common ground after two parliamentary shuttles, the National Assembly had the last word. The Senate had severely modified the text on first reading in order to “set limits” to its application, in the words of its president, Gerard Larcher. In particular, senators wanted to remove the possibility of verifying identity documents in institutions open to the public. The text was largely adopted by 225 to 58, with 7 abstentions.
Parliamentarians from the Socialist Party announced on Sunday evening their opposition to the Constitutional Council, as indicated on Twitter by the head of the Socialist group, Patrick Kanner. “The progress we got was not included in the final text, particularly the removal of identity checks”Patrick Kanner explains. The book “La France Insomise” by Jean-Luc Melenchon also notes that it assembled the 60 parliamentarians needed to take over the Constitutional Council. Therefore, the entry into force of the text may be delayed again. Within the executive branch, we are talking about the decision of the Constitutional Council of January 20 on this text. If the law is ratified, it could be passed on Friday, January 21 and It will come into effect at the end of next week, after a week.
Once the law is passed, if declared in accordance with the constitution, it will be necessary to justify a full vaccination schedule after the age of 16 to reach many places, including restaurants, bars and inter-regional public transport. As well as in some large gatherings. A negative test that until now could have been submitted in place of proof of vaccination as part of a “Health Card” will now be accepted only for access to health institutions and services.