COVID LAW. A new law to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic is considered by Parliament. But what is she planning?
[Mise à jour le 18 juillet à 15h36] the Covid-19 has not completely disappeared from everyday life… and has therefore still not definitively left Parliament. A new law, very succinct, to define the systems put in place to maintain the fight against the epidemic is under study. A first version was adopted by the National Assembly in which the RN, the Nupes and LR had two articles withdrawn. From now on, the text is studied by the Senate. Arrived at the Luxembourg Palace on July 13, the bill is currently being discussed by the Constitutional Law Commission and must be debated in public session on Wednesday July 20, before returning to the National Assembly. Will the positive test tracking tool be retained? Will travelers again be forced to present a health pass to be able to leave or return to the country? The upper house must make progress on these subjects in particular.
This new law “of monitoring and health security in the fight against Covid-19” is however not binding. The government does not intend to put in place drastic measures. François Braun, the Minister of Health, confirmed it in the columns of the Parisianfavoring the civility of the population: “I want to make our fellow citizens understand that it is important to protect themselves against the virus, but we are not going to redo a law every time there is a wave. We must succeed to adjust our behavior when viral circulation resumes. We will have other waves, the scientists tell us. Afterwards, if a new dangerous variant appears…”
What does the new Covid bill provide?
The new draft law on “monitoring and health security in the fight against Covid-19” is examined by the parliamentarians. The deputies voted on a first version on the night of July 12 to 13, after tumultuous debates. But the text validated in the end no longer resembled that proposed by the government. Only the first article, which provides for the end of the state of emergency and the extension of the collection and computer processing of screening and contact case data: this collection will be authorized until January 31, 2023 (compared to March 31, 2023, date initially provided for by the government text) if the law is definitively adopted.
On the other hand, the second article, which provided for the possible establishment of a “border pass”, a sort of health pass at the national borders, was rejected by a large part of the deputies of the left, the National Rally and the Republicans. What indignant Elisabeth Borne, who wrote on Twitter: “The time is serious. By joining together to vote against the measures to protect the French against the Covid LFI, the LRs and the RN prevent any border control against the virus .” For its part, the opposition protested against the refusal of the majority to reinstate the 15,000 caregivers suspended in 2021 for having refused to be vaccinated.
In addition, it should be noted that the bill does not provide, at this stage, for any return of the mask or any new vaccination obligation. But, at present, nothing has been definitively recorded, amendments having been tabled by senators before a final return of the file to the offices of the National Assembly.
What does the end of the state of health emergency mean?
The state of health emergency, voted on March 23, 2020, will end on July 31, 2022, after multiple extensions. This particular situation allowed the government to take exceptional measures concerning the restriction of freedom of movement, in particular confinements and curfews, or even the establishment of a health or vaccination pass. With the end of this state of health emergency, the government will see itself reduced to the field of possibilities for combating the Covid-19 pandemic: it will no longer be able, for example, to make it compulsory to wear a mask in public spaces, or still decree maximum gauges in certain places.
Will unvaccinated caregivers be reinstated?
Suspended in 2021 because they refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19, around 15,000 caregivers are still waiting to be able to return to their duties. In the National Assembly, the deputies of insubordinate France and the National Rally support their reintegration, pointing to the staff shortages of the public hospital. However, this “is not on the agenda”, decided on July 11, François Braun, the Minister of Health, triggering boos from part of the hemicycle. Raquel Garrido, an insubordinate MP, even defended a motion for the prior rejection of the government’s text, during the opening of discussions the same day. The rejection motion was voted by the deputies of LFI and RN, collecting a total of 174 votes for and 192 against.