The bill likely to transform the health pass into a vaccinal pass struggles to find unanimity. And yet, it has been officially passed by the Parliament after one last vote at the National Assembly in the afternoon of Sunday January 16, 2022. The controversial test included 215 votes for, 58 against, and 7 abstentions, in an almost empty hemicycle.
But the health pass will not come into effect right away. As a matter of fact, 60 deputies from the opposition have announced they will refer to the Constitutional Council after the vote to guarantee the respect of "fundamental liberties". Nonetheless, the government hopes it will come into effect around January 20, just as a precaution.
Senators wanted to alter the text but they failed finding a compromise with deputies. Therefore, the bill went back to the National Assembly, where elected representatives have worked on a version similar to the first draft. Among modifications, the vaccinal pass only applying from 16 years old has been approved. But for the rest, deputies of the majority have stood on their grounds, especially when it came to the verification of the identity concordance. It is also out of the question to set up the extinction mechanism proposed by the Senate.
Although the calendar has been jeopardized, Law Commission president Yael Braun-Pivet claimed “the vaccinal pass could come into effect from the end of next week”.
