Government tool to allow the controlled reopening of activities, the health pass is extended, as promised, to new places.
A decree published in the official journal on Tuesday and which must be applied from Wednesday July 21 enumerates a long list of spaces requiring that one presents white paw to enter there, from the moment when they accomodate at least "
50 people
".
This means that the pass will have to be checked not from the 51st visitor, but from the first, if the establishment can accommodate 50 people, Bercy specified a few days ago.
The original threshold of 1,000 people has therefore been significantly lowered.
Read also: Vaccination in France boosted by the health pass
On the business side, the health pass will apply more broadly, to establishments intended for
temporary
“
exhibitions, trade fairs or exhibitions
”.
The same goes for hearing, conference or meeting rooms.
Game rooms are also included in the list, as are cruise ships.
The sanitary pass also applies to fairgrounds "
with more than 30 stands or attractions
", specifies the decree.
Several sports establishments are also included: there are outdoor ones, such as stadiums, sports fields or outdoor swimming pools, or indoor establishments such as sports halls, skating rinks or indoor swimming pools.
Among the cultural establishments concerned, we find in particular cinemas, performance halls, marquees, dance halls, discotheques and bars and restaurants "
for the dance activities which they are legally authorized to offer
". Museums are also concerned, as are temporary cultural exhibition halls, “
except for people accessing these establishments for professional reasons or for research purposes.
". Likewise, libraries and documentation centers must impose the health pass, except in certain cases: people working there or accessing it for research purposes are not concerned and university and specialized libraries are not included either. The BNF is also exempt from the pass, as is the public information library, except for the exhibitions and cultural events they host.
Small subtlety: the sanitary pass does not apply in places of worship, such as a church or a mosque ... except for “
events not of a religious nature
” organized in these places.
A concert, for example, will not be concerned, but a religious celebration, if.
This clarification allows the executive to avoid incurring the wrath of the Council of State and the Constitutional Council, freedom of worship being part of the sacred rights of individuals.
Finally, events organized in public space or in a place open to the public, whether cultural, festive, fun or sporting, must also require the health pass, provided that they are "
likely to give rise to a control. of personal access
”.
Wearing a mask will not be compulsory indoors
Last important clarification: in exchange for the extension of the health pass, the wearing of a mask is no longer compulsory for people accessing the places concerned.
The prefect of the department can however choose to reinstate it, as can the operator of the place or the organizer of the event, "
when the local circumstances justify it
".
A particularly risky situation or a territory where the epidemic is progressing strongly could therefore legitimize the obligation to wear a mask, despite the medical pass at the entrance.
As a reminder, the health pass can be validated either with the result of an antigen test or RT-PCR of less than 48 hours, or by a "
proof of vaccination status
", or with a "
certificate of recovery
".
It is controlled by the managers of the establishment thanks to the TousAntiCovidVérif application: the Minister of the Interior on Sunday called on the prefects to ensure "
particularly the respect of the control of the health pass by the establishments requesting him now
".
The "
administrative closure
" of the place can be pronounced if the managers show lightness, underlined Gérald Darmanin in this telegram.
Tense debate in sight in Parliament
For the time being, restaurants, bars and shops are not included in the list of places concerned, unless they allow their customers to dance, for the first two. On Monday, the Council of State rejected the government's bill on shopping centers: the elements communicated by the executive "
do not show [...] a significant interest in controlling the epidemic
", argued -he. An extension of the pass to these places also risks preventing unvaccinated people from having easy access to “basic
necessities, in particular food
”, a blow of the knife to the “
principle of equality”.
Disproportionate, noted the advice of the council.
The executive, however, maintains its desire to extend the pass to large shopping centers.
Strong tensions surround the extension desired by the government to these different places: some see this tool as a danger to the freedom of individuals, while others defend a good way to promote vaccination.
A political, legal and legislative battle is brewing, but the authorities claim to want to demonstrate "
pedagogy and conviction
" to reassure the undecided and ease tensions.