Vaccination pass: the Constitutional Council validates the essentials of the bill

The Constitutional Council, seized by deputies and senators of the opposition, rendered its decision on Friday concerning the bill transforming the health pass into a vaccination pass.

And the institution responsible for monitoring the compliance with the Constitution of the laws has decided to validate the main part of this text which must come into force on Monday, as Jean Castex announced on Thursday evening.

The Elders, who had been seized by the opposition, however censored the possibility for the organizers of political meetings to request a health pass from participants.

The organizers will however be able to take “all useful health precautionary measures, such as limiting the number of participants, the distribution of masks or the ventilation of the rooms”, according to a press release from the Constitutional Council.

Read alsoVaccination pass from 16 years old, health pass for the youngest: the rules in force from Monday

To justify this partial censorship, he noted that the parliamentarians did not condition the pass in the meetings to the “health situation”. The measure was introduced via an LR amendment in committee in the Assembly on December 29, with the support of the majority. The bill, definitively adopted on Sunday by Parliament, will be promulgated and “will allow the full deployment of the vaccine pass from this Monday, January 24 as announced by the Prime Minister” Thursday, welcomed Matignon.

It will then be necessary to be able to justify for the over 16s a vaccination status to access leisure activities, restaurants and bars, fairs or interregional public transport.

A negative test will no longer suffice, except to access health facilities and services.

About sixty deputies from all sides led by the France insoumise group, as well as socialist senators, had seized the Constitutional Council by denouncing a device undermining fundamental freedoms.

“Strictly proportionate to the health risks incurred”

The Elders of rue Montpensier note that the provisions on the vaccination pass "cannot be regarded, given the nature of the premises and the activities carried out there, as establishing an obligation to vaccinate". The measures concerning the pass "must be strictly proportionate to the health risks incurred" and "it is terminated without delay when they are no longer necessary", they also note, the bill providing for a possible application until 31 July.

Regarding identity checks by cafeterias, restaurateurs, in cinemas or theaters in case of doubt about the holder of a pass, the Council considers that this is not an administrative police check. “The refusal of the person to produce” an official document containing his photo “can have no other consequence than the impossibility for him to access this place”, he supports. This identity verification was particularly criticized by the Socialist senators in their referral. But the Constitutional Council issues “a reservation of interpretation”: the verification can only be based “on criteria excluding any discrimination of any kind whatsoever between people”.

Its members had been seized by 60 deputies from all sides led by the group La France insoumise of the Palais Bourbon, and by around sixty socialist senators.

The perimeter of the two referrals was however different, the first being opposed to the vaccination pass, the second considering that a “certain number of safeguards” must be brought there to “supervise it scrupulously”.

Heated debate in Parliament

Denouncing an additional step in a "liberal, anti-social and anti-democratic logic", the CGT also sent an anti-vaccine pass argument to the Constitutional Council, according to a press release from the confederation.

“The strategy remains the same as for the health pass: to make people feel guilty, stigmatize and punish individuals, as evidenced by the recent contemptuous remarks by Emmanuel Macron for all fellow citizens”, criticized the central.

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