Emmanuel Macron and Jean Castex, July 14, 2020 in Paris.

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Ludovic Marin / AP / SIPA

When will public places reopen in France?

Jean Castex and several ministers are to discuss it with Emmanuel Macron this Wednesday at the end of the afternoon.

Objective: to study the different reopening scenarios, and in particular the introduction of a “health pass” mentioned last week by the Head of State.

This meeting comes as additional restrictive measures are being studied in some twenty departments, where the circulation of the virus has increased in recent days.

In the meantime, the executive intends to give perspectives: the meeting should allow to study the tools of anticipation as well as the modalities that a "health pass" could include, such as the QR codes to be used in public places, the experimental protocols. for cultural and sporting events or restaurants, in order to be ready when reopening is possible, according to the same source.

A subject that must be "prepared now"

Emmanuel Macron had mentioned last week the establishment in France of a "health pass" in order to reopen certain places without conditioning their access to vaccination, considering that this "important subject" which "will pose a lot of technical questions, respect for individual data, organization of our freedoms ”, must be“ prepared now, technically, politically and legally ”.

In addition to the Minister of Health Olivier Véran, present at the Elysée, Bruno Le Maire (Economy), Roselyne Bachelot (Culture), Roxana Maracineanu (Sports), Jean-Michel Blanquer (National Education), Cédric O (Digital), Frédérique Vidal (Higher Education), Elisabeth Borne (Work), Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (Tourism), Clément Beaune (European Affairs) and the government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal, are to participate in the meeting by videoconference.

Two experiments in Paris and Marseille

The executive should also study experiments to reopen certain public spaces, museums, theaters and cinemas and festivals, such as those carried out in Marseille, Paris or Lyon.

Two test concerts will take place "in the second half of March", with a thousand people, in the auditorium of the Dôme in Marseille, seated with the possibility of getting up.

All people will be tested before the concert and positive cases will not be filtered, but post-event tests will assess contamination.

In Paris, 5,000 people will take part in an experiment in the Accor Arena, a standing concert with a test group.

On Wednesday morning, the Head of State also chaired a Defense Council to decide on possible restrictions to be applied to the twenty departments under enhanced surveillance since last week, including weekend curfews in Paris and Marseille. , as already implemented in the agglomerations of Nice and Dunkirk, but which are far from unanimous.

Prime Minister Jean Castex is expected to take part in a press conference again on Thursday evening.

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