Coronavirus: health emergency in the process of being extended

The Senate dominated by the right-wing opposition gave its final green light on Saturday, May 9, to the bill extending until July 10 the state of health emergency in the face of the coronavirus epidemic, before the final vote in stride. of the Assembly which will be worth final adoption.

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The text was approved by 252 votes for (LR, centrists, LREM, Independents, RDSE with radical majority) and 87 votes against (PS and CRCE with communist majority).

The president of the Senate Gérard Larcher (LR) confirmed that he would seize the Constitutional Council as of Saturday evening, wishing to make sure that the measures which will be implemented "are necessary and adapted to the circumstances". Emmanuel Macron has already announced that he will seize the Sages himself.

Deputies and senators had agreed at the beginning of the afternoon in joint joint committee on a common text, with a compromise on the sensitive point of the criminal responsibility of the public and private actors brought to implement the exit of the confinement as of Monday. The question of the criminal responsibility of decision-makers, and particularly mayors, on the front line for the reopening of schools decided by the government, had been a subject of great tension for several days between majority and opposition.

The compromise adopted modifies the public health code to specify that account is taken of the "skills, powers and means" available to "the perpetrator" in "the crisis situation which justified the state of 'health emergency', as well as 'the nature of its missions or functions'.

Deputies and senators also agreed on the other sensitive point of the text: the establishment of a follow-up of coronavirus patients and contact cases, thanks to a follow-up file linked to Health Insurance. Parliamentarians have attached guarantees to the creation of this file, which is different from the StopCovid application project. They notably limited data backup to 3 months.

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The bill also provides for the possibility of quarantine or segregation upon arrival on national territory in certain cases.

For the leader of the centrist senators Hervé Marseille, "it is a good thing that the Parliament can show its unity in these complicated moments".