The health pass continues to be debated. In the National Assembly, more than 1,000 amendments were tabled against this flagship measure of the government of Jean Castex to fight against the coronavirus, and in particular against the Delta variant. The incidence rate is progressing especially among 12-17 year olds even though the health pass for minors is contested. 

Already partially in force since the day before, the health pass was still skating Thursday in the National Assembly.

The deputies are struggling to agree on this tool presented as the best weapon in the face of the rebound of the Covid-19 epidemic.

In a very hurry, the government wants to pass the bill by the end of the weekend after four days of parliamentary debate.

But, by parting in the middle of the night Wednesday, the deputies still had 900 amendments to consider out of the thousand that had been tabled.

Extremely heated debates

The debates resumed at 9 am Thursday at a slightly accelerated pace, in a hemicycle less crowded than the day before.

The atmosphere remained stormy, the oppositions strafing the extension of the sanitary pass.

The review "will take a little longer than expected (...) There are a lot of debates, a lot of amendments. It's democracy," said government spokesman Gabriel Attal. 

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If the vaccination obligation extended to caregivers, firefighters or professionals working with the elderly is widely supported, this is not the case for the extension of the health pass, the object of strong criticism from the left to the far right. "You are wasting this summer period for a number of French people" who would only have time to inject the vaccine, accused LR deputy Véronique Louwagie on Thursday morning in the hemicycle. "We are entitled either to authoritarian control or to stupid technocratic measures", added Sébastien Chenu (RN). The left was not to be outdone: the health pass, "we don't want it, the citizens don't want it and we have a government that says 'it's like that, not otherwise.' here? ", s'exclaims the Communist Alain Bruneel. 

The health pass for minors is debated 

Some deputies sought in vain to exempt minors or outdoor activities, citing the difficulties or "absurdities" for tennis or tree climbing.

“What happens if a teenager is not vaccinated and is excluded from extracurricular activities and cultural discovery?” Asks Communist deputy Sébastien Jumel. 

#PassSanitaire for minors: "What happens if a teenager is not vaccinated and is excluded from extracurricular activities and cultural discovery?" Asks @ sebastienjumel. # DirectAN # COVID19 # PJLSanitairepic.twitter .com / bJi5aow8A2

- LCP (@LCP) July 22, 2021

The incidence rate is increasing especially among 12-17 year olds and 18-29 year olds, two age groups where the number of vaccinated remains very low.

But Gabriel Attal assured Thursday he did not want to "stigmatize the young people who drooled over it for a year and a half" and "are doing the best they can".

"We will have specific vaccination campaigns, especially in schools at the start of the school year precisely to vaccinate as many young people as possible who wish," he recalled.

The threat of containment 

"We have two choices: pass the pass, quickly, very quickly (...) or expose ourselves to the risk of having to reconfigure our country", once again justified Olivier Véran before the Senate Law Commission.

"Don't see it as a blackmail or a sword of Damocles (...) but there is no other option".

The president of the scientific council Jean-François #Delfraissy foresees a "very complex situation" by the end of August concerning hospitalizations.

# DirectSenate # Covid19pic.twitter.com / QW7PK25FxN

- Public Senate (@publicsenat) July 22, 2021

Before the senators, Jean-François Delfraissy, the president of the scientific council, said he feared "a complex, very complex situation" at the hospital at the end of August, the moment when the Delta variant will "have an impact on the care system".

With more than 21,000 cases of Covid contamination recorded in 24 hours on Wednesday, this is the first time since the beginning of May that the threshold of 20,000 contaminations per day has been exceeded, against 9,000 a week ago.

People in critical care continue to decline for the time being (859 against 931 on July 14).

To the point that new measures such as the return to the compulsory mask outdoors have been taken for certain municipalities of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Hérault and Vendée.

Accelerating vaccination as the sole objective

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Jean Castex launched "a collective challenge" to the population so that "we reach eight million vaccines" administered in the next two weeks. With the goal of 50 million first-time vaccines at the end of August and no longer 40 million, thanks to the opening of 5 million new appointments within 15 days.

Jean Castex has also sent a message of firmness to opponents of the health pass or vaccination who "come to acts of violence". Several hundred people took part in a new demonstration on Wednesday, while dozens of others broke into the town hall of Chambéry, in Savoy, to symbolically take down the official portrait of President Emmanuel Macron. Another demonstration is scheduled for Thursday in Paris at the call of the UPR before a new gathering of opponents on Saturday.