The French Constitutional Council has acknowledged on Friday that the bill on vaccine passes, set to come into effect on January 24, conforms to the country's constitution
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2022) The French Constitutional Council has acknowledged on Friday that the bill on vaccine passes, set to come into effect on January 24, conforms to the country's constitution.
The controversial bill on the introduction of vaccine passes was adopted by the French parliament on January 16. A group of French lawmakers denounced the bill as an "inadmissible encroachment on freedoms" and asked the French Constitutional Council to analyze it.
"The Constitutional Council acknowledges conformity of provisions, which stipulate access to certain places via a vaccine pass, with the constitution, and orders to revoke it as soon as it is no longer required," the council said in a statement.
Vaccine passes will be required starting January 24 if the bill is ratified by French President Emmanuel Macron. The passes may be canceled if the infection rate improves and the country's healthcare system is offloaded. The Constitutional Council also rejected the provision on the use of vaccine passes at pre-election meetings.
The French government began preparing the bill in late December, when the Omicron variant began to spread in Europe. Under the bill, all French citizens above 16 years of age must go through a full COVID-19 vaccination course. Access to restaurants, cafes, theaters, cinemas and long-distance trains is prohibited without a vaccine pass. Minors from 12 to 15 years old may visit these places if they test negative for coronavirus. Individuals without vaccine passes but testing negative for COVID-19 will be able to visit hospitals and retirement homes.
