Paris, Nov 5 (AFP/APP):France’s lower house of parliament on Friday voted to allow the government to make use of a health pass to fight against Covid-19 to July 31, 2022, well after presidential elections scheduled in April.
Introduced in full in August, the pass is be needed to partake in usually routine aspects of life in France such as sipping a coffee in a cafe, visiting a museum or travelling on an inter-city train.
The health pass is generated in a QR code either by a full course of vaccinations, a recent negative virus test or a recovery from Covid-19. The system is one of the strictest in Europe, but weekly protests have diminished since its launch.
The lower house approved the proposal by 118 to 89 with one extension with support from the centrist majority controlled by President Emmanuel Macron, overriding objections from the upper house Senate controlled by the right.
The opposition accused the government of seeking to shift the issue beyond the presidential polls where Macron is expected to seek re-election but the government insisted it was needed at a time when the WHO is sounding the alarm about a new wave in Europe.
The policy is widely seen by analysts to have been a success for Macron, encouraging people hesitant about the jab to get vaccinated and keep infection rates down.