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The French Parliament has approved a law that will exclude unvaccinated people from restaurants, sports arenas and other places
PARIS – The French parliament on Sunday approved a law that will exclude unvaccinated people from all restaurants, sports arenas and other places, the central measure of the government’s efforts to protect hospitals amid a record number of infections caused by the highly contagious variant of omicron.
The National Assembly passed the law by a vote of 215 to 58. Centrist President Emmanuel Macron had hoped to push the bill through more quickly, but it was slightly delayed by resistance from lawmakers on the right and left and by hundreds of proposed amendments.
More than 91% of French adults are already fully vaccinated, and some critics have questioned whether the “vaccine pass” would make much of a difference.
Macron’s government hopes the new pass will be enough to limit the number of patients filling overstretched hospitals nationwide without resorting to another lockdown. Further lockdowns would deal another blow to the economy – and could also cloud Macron’s re-election chances in the April 10 presidential election.
Until now, a COVID-19 pass was required in France to go to restaurants, cinemas, museums and many sites across the country, but unvaccinated people have been allowed to enter if they present a recent negative test or proof of recent recovery.
The new law requires full vaccination for these places, including tourist sites, many trains and all domestic flights, and applies to anyone 16 and older. Some exceptions may be made for those who have recently recovered from COVID-19. The law also imposes stiffer fines for fake passes and allows identity checks to prevent fraud.
More than 76% of French intensive care beds are occupied by patients infected with the virus, most of them unvaccinated, and some 200 people with the virus die every day. Like many countries, France is in the grip of the omicron variant, recording more than 2,800 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the past week.
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