COVID LAW. Last night, MPs ended up approving the new Covid-19 bill. However, the government’s text was halved by the opposition. Here’s what’s left.
The new draft law on “monitoring and health security in the fight against Covid-19“was examined by the National Assembly since Monday, July 11. The deputies finally approved it on the night of July 12 to 13, after tumultuous debates. But the text validated in the end no longer resembles much to that proposed by Only the first article remains, 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 ( against March 31, 2023, the date initially provided for by the government text).
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.
The final text was approved by vote with 221 votes for, 187 against and 24 abstentions. The text must now pass to the Senate, where the Minister of Health François Braun and the Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne have expressed their hope to restore it in its entirety.
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 Monday François Braun, the Minister of Health, triggering boos from part of the hemicycle. Raquel Garrido, rebellious deputy, even defended a motion for the prior rejection of the government text, during the opening of discussions on Monday evening. The motion of rejection was voted by the deputies of LFI and the RN, collecting a total of 174 votes for and 192 against.