When French President Emmanuel Macron declared that its populace would need a health pass to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to go in to a café or bar, it caused an immediate stampede on medical centres.
In panic, thousands rushed to online medical appointment sites, like Doctolib, which had a record 926,000 people book their first dose within hours of Mr Macron’s address – a record for the site.
Hundreds of thousands more continued to book jabs the next day, a vast number of whom are health professionals now subject to mandatory vaccination under the new rules.
No jab, no wages
Mr Macron, who in December last year tweeted: “I have already said it, I will say it again: the vaccine will not be compulsory”, now says all health care workers – doctors, nurses, office staff and volunteers must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by September or risk not being paid.
Simply put, the changes mean that anyone in France – except for those aged 12-17 years – who wants to visit or, indeed works in, a café, restaurant, cinema, theatre, bar or other places of leisure and culture will need to have a health pass.
Only 37% of people have been vaccinated in France and the cases of COVID-19 are rising once again with fears its health system will be overrun once again.
Macron’s snap announcement shocked many. The retail industry and transport bosses met with the government 24 hours later. Retail industry leaders met with key ministers on Tuesday to raise “four issues” of concern and to dispel some of the confusion over which shopping centres would be impacted.
“The question is tricky because shopping centres often house food shops and pharmacies. It would be complicated to tell people who don’t have a health pass that they can’t eat, or go and get tested or vaccinated,” said Jacques Creyssel, general delegate of the Federation of Commerce and Distribution.
