The Constitutional of France validates the covid certificate and the mandatory vaccination for health workers

The Constitutional Council of France has validated this Thursday the covid certificate to enter crowded places and the mandatory vaccination for health personnel, two of the key measures of the strategy against the pandemic of the president, Emmanuel Macron, which have caused protests in recent weeks ever-increasing social networks.

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• France imposes the covid certificate for crowded places under the ghost of new 'yellow vests'

• Tens of thousands of French people again protest against the coronavirus health certificate

• Protests over restrictions to contain the pandemic spread across the world

Thus, as of August 9, as foreseen by the French Government, the health certificate - recent negative covid test, complete vaccination certificate or recovery certificate - will be required to enter a bar or restaurant, even on a terrace , to travel on a long-distance train or on a domestic flight, as well as for non-urgent patients and visitors in health facilities and nursing homes.

The measure, which has been applied since July 21 in places of "leisure and culture" that gather more than 50 people, such as theaters or cinemas - which have registered a drop in visits - was extended by means of an approved law on Sunday 25 after six days of heated parliamentary debate in both chambers. Since Macron made his intentions known in a speech on July 12, protests have been held across France on Saturdays, drawing more and more people. More than 200,000 people attended the last call, according to official figures. For this Saturday new demonstrations have been called throughout France. However, the Government insists that the number of newly vaccinated - more than four million new appointments since Macron's speech - is much higher than those that go out on the street.

The Constitutional Council has validated the measure considering that it constitutes a “balanced conciliation” between the need to protect the population and individual freedoms.

The health certificate will not be required for minors between 12 and 17 years old - the last in the vaccination shift, and therefore, many of them still without the full guideline - until September 30.

The prime minister, Jean Castex, has celebrated the decision of the "wise men", as the members of the Constitutional Court are known in France.

"The validation will allow the full deployment of the strategy to fight covid-19 presented by the president on July 12," he said in a statement.

Another of the measures that most outraged the protesters was the obligation to be vaccinated that Macron instituted for all health personnel, as well as for other professionals in contact with vulnerable audiences, such as firefighters and emergency services, or workers in nursing homes. According to the law, these employees have until September 15 to begin the vaccination schedule and until October 15 to complete it, under penalty of being suspended from employment and salary if they have not done so by then and until they are immunized. The measure was taken to the Constitutional Council, which has validated it. However, it has censored one of the clauses that had caused the most controversy and confusion after its approval: the one referring to the case of workers with temporary contracts. According to the decision of the highest constitutional authority,No interim or temporary contract worker may be fired “before the end” of their contract, as allowed by the original law.

The Constitutional Court has also annulled the mandatory isolation provided by law for people who have tested positive for coronavirus, an extreme that the judges consider "contrary" to the Constitution. Castex has assured that the Government "takes note" of the decision, although it has recalled that it is a measure that is already used in "many" European countries and that it is also applied in France for travelers from high-risk countries. "The public authorities will limit themselves to reminding all people infected with covid-19, including asymptomatic ones, the need to scrupulously respect medical recommendations regarding isolation."